1 fa2663.10 FARAD CONTINUATION SHEET NO. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD FIRST APPEAL NO. 2663 OF 2010 WITH CIVIL APPLICTION NO. 1211 OF 2008 WITH FIRST APPEAL NO. 2668 OF 2010 WITH CIVIL APPLICTION NO. 1215 OF 2008 WITH FIRST APPEAL NO. 2669 OF 2010 WITH CIVIL APPLICTION NO. 1217 OF 2008 WITH FIRST APPEAL NO. 2670 OF 2010 WITH CIVIL APPLICTION NO. 1218 OF 2008 Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court’s orders or directions and Registrar’s orders Court’s or Judge’s orders Mr. S.S. Dande, Advocate for appellants. Mr. S.D. Kaldate, AGP for State. CORAM : K. K. TATED, J. DATE : 23RD DECEMBER, 2010. PER COURT : . Heard learned Counsel for the appellant. 2. First Appeal No. 2663/2010 is filed by original respondent No.3 against the 2 fa2663.10 judgment and award dated 05-02-1999 passed by the Reference Court in L.A.R. No. 5/1998. 3. First Appeal No. 2668/2010 is filed by original respondent No.3 against the judgment and award dated 05-02-1999 passed by the Reference Court in L.A.R. No. 13/1998. 4. First Appeal No. 2669/2010 is filed by original respondent No.3 against the judgment and award dated 05-02-1999 passed by the Reference Court in L.A.R. No. 16/1998. 5. First Appeal No. 2670/2010 is filed by original respondent No.3 against the judgment and award dated 05-02-1999 passed by the Reference Court in L.A.R. No.17/1998. 6. In all First Appeals, the Reference Court awarded enhanced compensation in respect of acquired land Rs.4252/-. 7. Without going into the merit of the matter, these appeals are dismissed on the ground that the amount involved in all 3 fa2663.10 those references are less than Rs.5000/-. 8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Land Acquisition Officer Eluru and others vs. Jasti Rohini (Smt.) and another reported in 1995(1) S.C.C. 717, held that : "The question of fixation of market value is a paradox which lies at the heart of the law of compulsory purchase of land. The paradox lies in the facts that the market value concept is purely a phenomenon evolved by the Courts to fix the price of land arrived between the hypothetical willing buyer and willing seller bargaining as prudent persons without a medium (sic modicum) of constraints or without any extraordinary circumstances. But the condition of free market is the very opposite of the condition of the compulsory purchase which is ex hypothesi, a situation of constraints. Therefore to say, that for compulsory purchase, compensation is to be assessed and market is to be determined in that state of affairs has to be visualised in terms by its direct opposite. To solve the riddle, courts have consistently evolved the principle that the present value as on the date of compulsory acquisition comprised of all utility reached in a competitive field as on the date of the 4 fa2663.10 notification and the price on which a prudent and willing vendor and a similar purchaser would agree. The value of the land shall be taken to be the amount that the land if sold in the open market by a willing seller might be expected to realise from a willing purchaser. A willing seller is a person who is a free agent to offer his land for sale with all its existing advantages and potentialities as on the date of the sale and willing purchaser taking all factors into consideration would offer to purchase the land as on the date of the sale. Future suitability or adaptability of the land for any purpose shall not be taken into account. The compensation must, therefore, be determined by reference to the price which a willing vendor might reasonably except to obtain from a willing purchaser as on the date of notification published under section 4(1). The disinclination of the sellor to part with his land and the urgent necessity of the vendee to purchase the land must, alike, be disregarded and neither of them must be considered as acting under compulsion." 9. In all these appeals, the lands were acquired in the year 1996. The excess amount alleged to have been awarded by the Reference Court, for the reduction of which these appeals have been filed does not exceed Rs.5000/-, in any of the 5 fa2663.10 cases. Since it is compulsory acquisition, it is the solemn duty of the Court to assess reasonable compensation, so as to allow the same to the owner of the land whose land has been acquired by compulsory acquisition and also to avoid needless burden on the public exchequer. Even after applying the principles enunciated by the Apex Court and reproduced above no two forums can arrive at the same valuation, because for determining the market value many hypothetical and imponderable factors are to be taken into consideration. The market value is to be determined between the hypothetical willing purchaser and the hypothetical willing seller, bargaining as prudent persons without modicum of constraints or without any extraordinary circumstances. Hence, there cannot be any mathematical precision in determining the market value of the land. Taking into consideration these factors no useful public purpose is served by admitting the appeals, if the difference in the market value fixed by the Land Acquisition Officer and the Reference Court is not markedly considerable. In the event the appeals are admitted, in the cases where 6 fa2663.10 the difference is not glaringly large, the land owners whose lands have been compulsorily acquired will be unnecessarily vexed, as they have to appoint counsel and pay them large amounts towards fees and also have to incur expenses for reaching the court and for stay at the town where the appeal Court is located and for returning to their villages many times till the appeals are finally heard. On considering the pros and cons no useful public purpose will be served by admitting the appeals in which the alleged excess valuation is negligible or minimal. In this view of the matter, no useful public purpose will be served by admitting those appeals. 10. Hence, all first appeals are liable to be rejected at the stage of admission, but this shall not be used as precedent, in other connected matters. sd/- [ K. K. TATED, J.] sut/DEC10/fa2663.10