IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PIUS C.KURIAKOSE & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.K.BALAKRISHNAN WEDNESDAY, THE 12TH JANUARY 2011 / 22ND POUSHA 1932 LA.App..No.1569 of 2009 ----------------------------- LAR.146/2005 of SUB COURT, MUVATTUPUZHA .................... APPELLANT(S): CLAIMANT ----------------------------- JOSE JOSEPH, S/O. PAULOSE, AGED 57 YEARS, ELANJICKAL HOUSE, ANGADIKAR, KOTHAMANGALAM, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT. BY ADV. SRI.ALEXANDER JOSEPH SRI.M.V.SABU RESPONDENT(S)/RESPONDENTS: ------------------------------------ STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY DISTRICT COLLECTOR, ERNAKULAM. GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT.LATHA T. THANKAPPAN (SR) THIS LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 12/01/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: PIUS C. KURIAKOSE & N. K. BALAKRISHNAN, JJ. ------------------------------------------------ L. A. A. No.1569 of 2009 ------------------------------------------------ Dated this the 12th day of January, 2011 JUDGMENT Balakrishnan, J The claimant is in appeal. His property was acquired for construction of Kothamangalam Byepass. Section 4(1) notification was published on 07/01/2000. The property acquired is a wetland without road frontage. The Land Acquisition Officer fixed the land value at Rs.2,960/- per Are. Originally, the Reference Court fixed the land value at Rs.4,144/- per Are. To fix the land value as above, the Reference Court had relied upon Ext.A2. The claimant then filed appeal as LAA.300/08. This Court set aside the award and remanded the matter for fresh consideration. The Reference Court relied upon Ext.A1 another award passed in LAR.191/95 and re-fixed the land value at Rs.6235/- per L. A. A. No.1569 of 2009 -2- Are. 2. The learned counsel for the appellant submits that Ext.R1, Mahazar prepared in respect of earlier land covered under Ext.A1 award in LAR.191/95, would show that, that was also a land without road frontage. He further submitted that since the notification under Section 4(1) was issued in that case on 13/12/89, for the passage of time sufficient increase should have been given. Taking 6.5% as reasonable increase per year, the total enhancement for 10 years i.e. from 13/12/89 to 07/01/2000, would come to 65%. We have taken note of the fact that the land covered under Ext.A1 was situated just 100 metres away from Kochi – Madurai N.H.49 whereas the property acquired in this case was situated about 150 metres away from that road. So much so, the acquired land should be treated as slightly inferior to the land covered under LAR.191/95. The land value fixed in LAR.191/95 was Rs.6235/- per Are. L. A. A. No.1569 of 2009 -3- Considering the inferiority of the land and reducing it by 20%, the land value for this acquired land as on 13/12/1989 can be fixed at Rs.5,000/-. Adding 6.5% each per annum for ten years (i.e. if the percentage of 65% is added) the total amount would come to Rs.8,250/- per Are. Accordingly, we find that the compensation awarded by the learned Subordinate Judge is slightly inadequate and as such, we re- fix the land value at Rs.8,250/- per Are. 3. The appeal is allowed to the extent indicated above. The claimant is entitled for all statutory benefits admissible under Sections 23(2), 23(1A) and under Section 28 of the Land Acquisition Act. PIUS C. KURIAKOSE JUDGE N. K. BALAKRISHNAN JUDGE kns/- L. A. A. No.1569 of 2009 -4-