RFA No. 1891 of 1995 [1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH R.F.A. No. 1891 of 1995 (O&M) Date of decision: 23.12.2011 The State of Punjab .. Appellant Vs. Ram Parkash and others .. Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Present: Mr. Ashok Aggarwal, Advocate General, Punjab with Mr. Alok Jain, Addl. Advocate General, Punjab. Mr. S. K. Singla, Advocate for the land owners. ... Rajesh Bindal J. This order will dispose of RFA Nos. 1891, 1893 to 1897, 1902, 2000 to 2004, 2007, 2008, 2046 to 2049, 2056, 2057 and 2138 of 1995, as common questions of law and facts are involved. In the appeals filed by the State, the prayer is for reduction of amount of compensation awarded to the land owners by the learned court below for the acquired land, whereas in the appeals filed by the land owners, the prayer is for enhancement thereof. Briefly, the facts of the case are that vide notification dated 21.11.1988, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act'), State of Punjab sought to acquire land, situated in village Devi Nagar, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala for construction of Bassi Distributory. The same was followed by notification dated 6.12.1988, issued under Section 6 of the Act. The Land Acquisition RFA No. 1891 of 1995 [2] Collector (for short, `the Collector') assessed compensation @ ` 1,50,000/- per acre qua the land which adjoined the road on one side; ` 70,000/- per acre for Chahi; ` 60,000/- per acre for Barani and ` 50,000/- per acre for Gair Mumkin kind of land. Dissatisfied with the award of the Collector, the land owners filed objections. On reference under Section 18 of the Act, the learned court assessed compensation @ ` 1,50,000/- per acre for the land to the extent of 10 Biswas immediately abutting the road on both sides; ` 1,00,000/- per acre for Chahi land; ` 85,800/- per acre for Barani land and ` 71,500/- per acre for Gair Mumkin land. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the relevant referred record. Learned counsel for the land owners submitted that while assessing compensation for the acquired land, the learned court below has not appreciated the evidence produced by them on record. Sale deeds (Ex. A3 and Ex. A4) have been ignored. Vide sale deed (Ex. A3), land measuring 10 bighas and 4 biswas, situated in village Jawaharpur, was sold for ` 2,80,000/-. The sale deed was registered on 10.11.1987. The average price per acre comes out to ` 1,09,840/-. Vide sale deed (Ex. A4) registered on 18.7.1987, 11 bighas and 18 biswas of land, situated in village Haripur Kura, was sold for a sum of ` 3,75,000/-, at an average price of ` 1,26,080/- per acre. The distributory passes through the main road, i.e., Chandigarh-Delhi Highway which passes through the estate of this village and it also crosses the road besides the railway line. He further submitted that the acquired land is surrounded by the boundaries of village Haripur Kura on one side and village Bakharpur on the other side. The submission is that considering the strategic location of land and its future potentiality, the learned court below has not assessed the compensation. Compensation for the land on the road has been granted at a higher rate merely upto 10 Biswas. It has, in fact, been granted only upto a depth of about 22-1/2 yards from the main road. Value of the land on the main road is always higher than the value of the land located beyond that. In fact, the land on the main road was being used for industrialisation. The State has not produced any evidence on record to counter the evidence led by the RFA No. 1891 of 1995 [3] land owners. Prayer is for further enhancement of compensation. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State submitted that the compensation already awarded to the land owners by the court below is more than what they deserved, rather, the same deserves to be reduced. The award of the Collector was fully justified. He had taken into consideration the prices of the land in the area while assessing the compensation. The State is not required to produce any evidence to justify the award of the Collector, rather, the onus is on the land owners to show that the award of the Collector is not justified and valuation of the land should be more than what was assessed by the Collector. As far as grant of higher rate of compensation to the land located on the road is concerned, the submission is that it has been granted on either side of the road upto 10 Biswas, which is sufficient. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the relevant referred record. As far as evidence led by the land owners is concerned, being two sale deeds (Ex. A3 and Ex. A4), the land in both the sale deeds is pertaining to villages Jawaharpur and Haripur Kura. There is no site plan on record showing the location of land pertaining to the aforesaid sale deeds. No doubt, the same were registered prior to the issuance of notification under Section 4 of the Act. However, a perusal thereof shows that average sale consideration paid therein was ` 1,09,840/- and ` 1,26,080/- per acre. Considering the fact that there is no site plan on record showing the location of land pertaining to the aforesaid sale deeds, it would not be safe to place reliance thereupon. Without any other relevant evidence on record showing the value of land in the area, I do not find that any error has been committed by the learned court below in assessing compensation for the acquired land. However, this court finds substance in the contention raised by learned counsel for the land owners regarding valuation of the land abutting the main road. His claim is that higher rate should be granted upto the depth of two acres from the main road. He further submitted that the land owners have been awarded higher rate only upto a depth of 22-1/2 yards. The same should be upto the depth of 200 feet from the main road. The award of the court below is modified to the RFA No. 1891 of 1995 [4] extent mentioned above, namely, that for the depth of acquired land to the extent of 200 feet from the road, the land owners shall be entitled to compensation @ ` 1,50,000/- per acre. They shall also be entitled to all other statutory benefits available to them under the Act. The award pertaining to other categories of land is upheld. The appeals are disposed of in the manner indicated above. ( Rajesh Bindal ) Judge 23.12.2011 mk