R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: November 10, 2008 1. RFA No. 983 of 1993 Sewa Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 2. RFA No. 354 of 1993 Guggan Appellant Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 3. RFA No. 389 of 1993 (O & M) Sant Singh and another Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 4. RFA No. 440 of 1993(O & M) Chaudhary Preet Singh (deceased) through LRs and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana Respondent 5. RFA No. 544 of 1993(O & M) Sushila Devi and another Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 6. RFA No. 559 of 1993(O & M) Ram Kishore and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 2] 7. RFA No. 562 of 1993(O & M) Rameshwar (deceased) through LRs and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 8. RFA No. 645 of 1993(O & M) Surja Appellant Vs. Haryana State and others Respondents 9. RFA No. 646 of 1993(O & M) Jaswant Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 10. RFA No.833 of 1993(O & M) Man Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 11. RFA No.834 of 1993(O & M) Rattan Appellant Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 12. RFA No. 835 of 1993(O & M) Sube Singh Appellant Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 3] 13. RFA No.984 of 1993(O & M) Bhim Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State through Collector, Gurgaon and another Respondents 14. RFA No.1007 of 1993(O & M) Neki Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 15. RFA No.1096 of 1993(O & M) Sis Ram and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 16. RFA No. 1097 of 1993(O & M) Hari Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 17. RFA No.1098 of 1993(O & M) Suraj Bhan (deceased) through LRs. Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 18. RFA No.1099 of 1993(O & M) Smt. Bhateri and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 19. RFA No. 1100 of 1993(O & M) Shanti Devi & others Appellant Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 4] 20. RFA No. 1141 of 1993(O & M) Hoshiar and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and others Respondents 21. RFA No.1154 of 1993(O & M) Tara Chand Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 22. RFA No. 1155 of 1993(O & M) Tara Chand and another Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 23. RFA No. 1203 of 1993(O & M) Mahender Partap Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 24. RFA No.1212 of 1993(O & M) Virender Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 25. RFA No. 1226 of 1993(O & M) Baljit Singh & others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana Respondent R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 5] 26. RFA No. 1227 of 1993(O & M) Baljit Singh & others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana Respondent 27. RFA No. 1233 of 1993(O & M) Partap Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and others Respondents 28. RFA No. 1234 of 1993(O & M) Jugbir Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 29. RFA No. 1306 of 1993(O & M) Sh. Kishori Lal and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 30. RFA No.1307 of 1993(O & M) Tilak Raj and another Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 31. RFA No. 1308 of 1993(O & M) Rameshwar Nath Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 32 RFA No.1309 of 1993(O & M) Attar Singh & another Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 6] 33. RFA No. 1310 of 1993(O & M) Ram Kishore & another Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 34. RFA No.1459 of 1993(O & M) Bijeshwar Nath Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 35. RFA No. 1461 of 1993(O & M) Tara Chand and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 36. RFA No. 1518 of 1993(O & M) Smt. Savitri Devi and another Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 37. RFA No. 1561 of 1993(O & M) Mahadev Parshad (deceased) through LRs and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 38. RFA No. 2181 of 1993(O & M) Brahma Devi Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 7] 39. RFA No.2930 of 1993(O & M) Ajit Singh and others Appellants Vs. Haryana State and others Respondents 40. R.F.A. No.2985 of 1993 (O & M) Sumer Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana Respondent 41. R.F.A. No.1479 of 1994 (O & M) Ved Kaur and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 42. R.F.A. No.1483 of 1994 (O & M) Pehlad Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and others Respondents. 43. R.F.A. No.1590 of 1994 (O & M) Hoshiari and others Appellants Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 44. R.F.A. No.1591 of 1994 (O & M) Siri Kishan and others Appellants Vs. The Haryana State and others Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 8] 45. R.F.A. No.1592 of 1994 (O & M) Rama Nand and others Appellants Vs The State of Haryana and another Respondents 46. R.F.A. No.1593 of 1994 (O & M) Shiv Charan (deceased) through LRs and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 47. R.F.A. No.1594 of 1994 (O & M) Ram Kanwar and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 48. R.F.A. No.1595 of 1994 (O & M) Udai Singh Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 49. R.F.A. No.1596 of 1994 (O & M) Rishi Parkash and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 50. R.F.A. No.1597 of 1994 (O & M) Savitri Devi Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 9] 51. R.F.A. No.1598 of 1994 (O & M) Azad Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 52. R.F.A. No.1599 of 1994 (O & M) Sarup Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondent 53. R.F.A. No.1600 of 1994 (O & M) Sis Ram and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 54. R.F.A. No.1601 of 1994 (O & M) Tuley Ram and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 55. R.F.A. No.1602 of 1994 (O & M) Smt. Atro and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 56. R.F.A. No.1603 of 1994 (O & M) Pehlad Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 10] 57. R.F.A. No.1604 of 1994 (O & M) Jit Singh and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 58. R.F.A. No.1648 of 1994 (O & M) Hari Ram and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 59. R.F.A. No.1649 of 1994 (O & M) Lachhman Sarup and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 60. R.F.A. No.1655 of 1994 (O & M) Rajinder Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 61. R.F.A. No.1719 of 1994 (O & M) Ved Parkash and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 62. R.F.A. No.1720 of 1994 (O & M) Ved Parkash and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 63. R.F.A. No.1721 of 1994 (O & M) Ved Parkash and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 11] 64. R.F.A. No.1747 of 1994 (O & M) Mohinder Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 65 R.F.A. No.1772 of 1994 (O & M) Kishori Lal and others Appellants Vs. The Haryana State and another Respondents 66. R.F.A. No.1773 of 1994 (O & M) Smt.Parameshwari Devi Appellants Vs. Haryana State and another Respondents 67. R.F.A. No.1780 of 1994 (O & M) Dev Raj and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 68. R.F.A. No. 1814 of 1994 Zile Singh Appellant Vs. State of Haryana and another Respondents 69. R.F.A. No.1815 of 1994 (O & M) Charan Singh (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The Haryana State & another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 12] 70. R.F.A. No.1816 of 1994 (O & M) Samey Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 71. R.F.A. No.1817 of 1994 (O & M) Hukam Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 72. R.F.A. No.1818 of 1994 (O & M) Narbir Singh and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 73. R.F.A. No.1819 of 1994 (O & M) Ratti Ram (deceased) through LRs Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 74. R.F.A. No.1820 of 1994 (O & M) Sumer Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 13] 75. R.F.A. No.1821 of 1994 (O & M) Puran Singh and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 76. R.F.A. No.1822 of 1994 (O & M) Roop Chand (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 77. R.F.A. No.1823 of 1994 (O & M) Ranbir Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 78. R.F.A. No.1824 of 1994 (O & M) Sabha Chand (deceased) through LRs and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana & another Respondents 79 R.F.A. No.1825 of 1994 (O & M) Charan Singh (deceased) through his LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana Respondents 80. R.F.A. No.1826 of 1994 (O & M) Dharambir Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 14] 81. R.F.A. No.1827 of 1994 (O & M) Pehlad Singh (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 82. R.F.A. No.1828 of 1994 (O & M) Ratt Ram (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 83. R.F.A. No.1829 of 1994 (O & M) Ram Bhagat (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 84 R.F.A. No.1830 of 1994 (O & M) Hari Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 85. R.F.A. No.1831 of 1994 (O & M) Amar Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 86. R.F.A. No.1832 of 1994 (O & M) Rajbir Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 87. R.F.A. No.1833 of 1994 (O & M) Jage Ram (deceased) through LRs & others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 15] 88. R.F.A. No.1834 of 1994 (O & M) Zile Singh (deceased) through LRs & others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 89. R.F.A. No.1835 of 1994 (O & M) Balbir Singh (deceased) through LRs & others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 90. R.F.A. No.1890 of 1994 (O & M) Hari Ram and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 91. R.F.A. No.1915 of 1994 (O & M) Hardwari lal and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 92. R.F.A. No.1936 of 1994 (O & M) Ranbir Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 93 R.F.A. No1937 of 1994 (O & M) Gajpat Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 94. R.F.A. No.2063 of 1994 (O & M) Smt. Dharam Wati Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 16] 95. R.F.A. No.2145 of 1994 (O & M) Rakesh Kumar and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 96. R.F.A. No.2146 of 1994 (O & M) Mool Chand Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 97. R.F.A. No.2147 of 1994 (O & M) Kishan Gopal (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 98. R.F.A. No.2148 of 1994 (O & M) Neki Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 99. R.F.A. No.2149 of 1994 (O & M) Karam Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 100. R.F.A. No.2150 of 1994 (O & M) Kaptan Singh and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents 101. R.F.A. No.2161 of 1994 (O & M) Surat Singh (deceased) through LRs and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and others Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 17] 102. R.F.A. No.2241 of 1994 (O & M) Shanti and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 103. R.F.A. No.2242 of 1994 (O & M) Joginder Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 104. R.F.A. No.2243 of 1994 (O & M) Chandi (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 105 R.F.A. No.2244 of 1994 (O & M) Layak Ram and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 106. R.F.A. No.2558 of 1994 (O & M) Dayawati and another Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 107. R.F.A. No.388 of 1995 (O & M) Shim Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 108. R.F.A. No.389 of 1995 (O & M) Bhim Singh and others Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 18] 109. R.F.A. No.2202 of 1994 (O & M) Raj Singh Appellant Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents 110. R.F.A. No.2115 of 1995 (O & M) Dalley Ram (deceased) through LRs Appellants Vs. The State of Haryana and another Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Present: Mr. Shailendra Jain, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 559, 983, 1307 of 1993 and 1936 of 1994. Mr. R.S.Chahar, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 833 to 835 of 1993. Mr. Alok Jain, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 559 and 562 of 1993, 1154 and 1155 of 1993, and 1747 of 1994. Mr. C.B. Goel, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 354, 645, 646, 2930 of 1993, 1096, 1097, 1098 1099, 1100 and 1203 of 1993, 1603 and 1604 of 1994. Mr. Amandeep Singh, Advocate for Mr. G.S. Hooda, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 1226, 1227 of 1993 and 1582 of 1995. Mr. Sudhir Aggarwal, Advocate for the land owners in R.F.A. Nos. 1308 to 1310, 1459 of 1993, 1590 to 1602 of 1994. Mr. Lokesh Sinhal, Additional Advocate General, Haryana for the State. Rajesh Bindal J. This order will dispose of a bunch of 110 appeals, as the same arise out of a common acquisition. The land owners are in appeal against the award of the learned court below seeking further enhancement of compensation for the acquired land. Briefly, the facts are that vide notification dated 28.3.1985, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act'), the State R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 19] of Haryana acquired 183.28 acres of land in village Gurgaon for development and utilisation as residential and commercial area of Gurgaon. The same was followed by notification dated 15.1.1986 issued under Section 6 of the Act. The Land Acquisition Collector (for short, `the Collector') assessed the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 1,05,000/- per acre for chahi land; Rs. 85,000/- per acre for Magda land; Rs. 65,000/- per acre for Banjar land and Rs. 45,000/- per acre for Gair Mumkin kind of land. Aggrieved against the same, the land owners filed objections which were referred to the learned Additional District Judge, Gurgaon, who keeping in view the material placed on record by the parties, determined the fair value of the acquired land @ Rs. 80/- per square yard. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the learned court below has not fairly assessed the value of the acquired land considering the operation thereof. Admittedly, the land in question is situated within the municipal limits of Gurgaon abutting Railway Road, Gurgaon. Prior to that, the land pertaining to the same village had earlier been acquired by three notifications and the latest one being dated 10.12.1982 for residential and commercial use. The entire area in the vicinity thereof had already been developed where residential and commercial establishments were existing at the time of acquisition of the land. Even a finding has been recorded by the learned court below in its award noticing strategic location thereof and also its future potential. Sale deeds (Ex. PD, Ex. PE and Ex. PJ), as were placed on record in L.A.C. No. 167 of 1992 –Shanti Devi v. State, which was decided by the learned court below vide a common award dated 29.1.1993 have not been considered at all. The same were in fact situated on the Railway Road and were abutting the acquired land, which was situated on Railway Road. Reference was also made to the evidence led in L.A.C. No. 258/31.8.1991, titled as Mohinder v. State of Haryana, decided on 9.3.1994 by the learned court below where sale deeds (Ex. P5 and Ex. P6) were produced on record. The submission is that though the aforesaid two sale deeds were registered after the acquisition but the same can also be considered for the purpose of determination of fair value of the acquired land as the same show the trend of prices in the area. It was further submitted that as the land was within the municipal limits where it is always sold in square yards in the form of small plots and not in acres. Even the sale deeds of small transactions of land measuring 3 biswas 10 biswansis, 5 biswas and 200 square yards can very well be relied upon without applying any cut and even if a cut is to be applied, the same should not be more than 20-25% keeping in view the future potential of the land. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State submitted that for R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 20] the acquisition pertaining to the same village vide notification dated 10.12.1982, this Court in R.F.A. No. 325 of 1990 –Sagar Chand and another v. Haryana State, decided on 5.11.2008, had upheld the award of the Court below assessing the value thereof at Rs. 70/- per square yard and in the present case, the learned court below has already assessed the fair value of the land acquired by determining the compensation payable to them at Rs. 80/- per square yard for the time gap in two notifications. As far as the sale deeds produced by the appellants are concerned, the same as such cannot be relied upon for the purpose of determination of fair value of the acquired land for the simple reason that the same are for very small pieces of land, whereas the acquisition in the present case is for a big chunk of 183.28 acres of land. The sale deeds were in fact got registered to jack up the prices of land in the area. The land pertaining to sale deeds (Ex. PD, Ex. PE and Ex. PJ) is situated just on the main Railway Road which if at all being genuine transactions must have been purchased by the vendees therein for commercial purposes. Another fact which should be noticed by the court is that it is only these three small plots which were left out of acquisition abutting the main Railway Road, otherwise the entire land in the vicinity was acquired. As far as reliance on sale deeds (Ex. P5 and Ex. P6) in Mohinder Singh's case (supra) is concerned, the submission is that admittedly those were registered after the acquisition and accordingly, should not be considered as there is other evidence on record which can be referred to for the purpose of determination of fair value of the acquired land. Heard learned counsel for the parties and with their assistance perused the relevant referred record. The determination of fair value of the acquired land in the present case does not seem to be a complex issue at all if considered in the light of two facts on record, both of which lead to the same conclusion, namely, if the judgment of this Court in Sagar Chand's case (supra) pertaining to the acquisition of land of the same village vide notification dated 10.12.1982 is considered giving the benefit of time gap in two notifications, where the present acquisition was vide notification dated 25.3.1985 and the second one by even taking the average of three sale deeds which are prior in time than the acquisition of land and applying a reasonable cut therein. As far as consideration of sale deeds produced by the appellants before the Reference Court in Mohinder Singh's case (supra) is concerned, in my considered view, the same cannot possibly be considered for the purpose of determination of fair value of the acquired land for the simple reason that there is other evidence available which is more appropriate for determination R.F.A. No. 983 of 1993 [ 21] of fair value of the land. As far as sale deed (Ex. PE) is concerned, a small piece of five biswas of land was sold at an average price of Rs. 123/- per square yard. As far as sale deed (Ex. PJ) is concerned, a piece of land measuring 200 square yards was sold for a sum of Rs. 220/- per square yard. Though the time gap in the two sale deeds is not very much, but that itself shows variation in the prices because of certain locational advantage. As far as sale deed (Ex. PD) is concerned, where 3 biswas and 10 biswansis of land was sold at an average price of Rs. 96.75 per square yard, learned counsel for the appellants sought to point out that it was a land already on lease of the vendee and for that reason the price shown was lesser. However, nothing could be pointed out as to for how much period the lease was. Accordingly, I do not consider that factor of the land being on lease resulted in its lower valuation. The average price of land in the three sale deeds would come out to Rs. 144.33 square yard, which is rounded off to Rs. 145/- per square yard. If a cut of 40% is applied thereon which, in my opinion, would be most appropriate keeping in view the fact that pieces of plots, the transactions of which are sought to be relied upon by learned counsel for the appellants, are situated just on the main Railway Road and had commercial value, whereas the acquisition was for a large chunk of land. Reducing a sum of Rs. 58/- per square yard therefrom, the value of the acquired land comes to Rs. 87/- per square yard. Now considering the issue from another angle which is rough estimation, whereby in the absence of any evidence of a sale transaction an increase is granted for the time gap in the notification, where the land in the same area was acquired by 2-3 notifications at a time gap. In Sagar Chand's case (supra), this court upheld the award of the learned court below assessing the fair value of the acquired land at Rs. 70/- per square yard for the acquisition carried out in village Gurgaon vide notification dated 10.12.1982. There is a gap of 2 years and 3 months for which, in my considered opinion, 25% increase would be reasonable. Accordingly, by adding Rs. 17.50 per square yard in Rs. 70/- per square yard,