IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD FIRST APPEAL No 1456 of 2000 to FIRST APPEALNo 1463 of 2000 Hon'ble MR.JUSTICE Y.B.BHATT and Hon'ble MR.JUSTICE M.C.PATEL ============================================================ 1. Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed : YES to see the judgements? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? : NO 3. Whether Their Lordships wish to see the fair copy : NO of the judgement? 4. Whether this case involves a substantial question : NO of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India, 1950 of any Order made thereunder? 5. Whether it is to be circulated to the Civil Judge? : NO -------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER Versus NAGJI VARVAJI JESANGJI THAKOR -------------------------------------------------------------- Appearance: MR ND GOHIL, AGP AND MR GC MAJMUDAR for Appellants MR AJ PATEL for Respondents -------------------------------------------------------------- CORAM : MR.JUSTICE Y.B.BHATT and MR.JUSTICE M.C.PATEL Date of decision: 19/12/2000 ORAL JUDGEMENT (Per : MR.JUSTICE Y.B.BHATT) 1. Appeals admitted. Mr. A.J. Patel appears for the respondents-original claimants and waives service of notice of the Appeal. 2. On a joint request of the learned counsel for the respective parties, these appeals are taken up for final hearing today. 3. These are appeals under section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act read with section 96 of the Civil procedure Code at the instance of the State and the acquiring body, challenging the common judgement and awards passed by the Reference Court under section 18 of the said Act. 4. The lands in question were acquired for the Narmada Canal Project under section 4 notification dated 25th June 1990. The lands in question were situated in village Serisa, Taluka Kalol, District Mehsana. The Reference Court has valued the acquired lands at Rs.48/- per square meter and has granted other statutory allowances contemplated by the said Act. It is these common judgement and awards which are the subject matter of the present appeals. 5. As a result of the hearing and discussion, our attention has been drawn by the learned counsel for the respective parties to two earlier decisions of this very Bench, rendered earlier today in (i) First Appeal Nos.570/2000 to 578/2000 and (ii) First Appeal Nos.1947/2000 to 1958/2000, whereby the lands acquired for the same project and from the very same village viz., Serisa have been valued by this Bench at Rs.48/- per square meter. It is also conceded by the learned counsel for the respective parties that the notification in the instant case being 25th June 1990, and the notification in the aforesaid decisions being of 19th May 1990 makes no difference. 6. Accordingly we hold and find that the valuation of the acquired lands in the instant group of cases at Rs.48/- per square meter is eminently justified and consequently the same deserves to be confirmed. Consequently, these appeals require to be dismissed. Accordingly these appeals are dismissed with no orders as to costs. ***** *ar*