Case: Jage Ram (D) Thr. Lrs Vs. Union Of India

The appellants are owners of the land to an extent of 1/2 share in Khasra No. 46), 463totally measuring 13 bighas 18 biswas situated in revenue estate of Village Roshan Pura, New Delhi. The land was acquired for the public purpose of construction ofOffice. The Land Acquisition Collector passed the Award bearing no.awarding compensation at the rate of Rs. 2,200/per bigha along with statutory benefits such as solatium, interest etc. as provided under the Land Acquisition Act,appellants, being dissatisfied with the quantum of compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector, filed petition under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act. The said petition came to be dismissed by the Reference Court/Additional District Judge, Delhi on 04.10.2005 in LA Case No. 896 of 1993. The appellants further approached the High Court of Delhi by filing LA.A.No.34/2006 andwhich also came to be dismissed. The appellants are aggrieved by the award of the Land Acquisition Collector, Award passed by the Reference Court as well as by the judgment of the High Court.

Court's reasoning:
Though the Reference Court as well as the High Court have assigned valid reasons for not relying upon the Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974 relied upon by the claimants, have erred in ignoring to consider the Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 produced by the respondents. The Reference Court as well as the High Court have merely observed, in the course of the judgment, that certified copy of such Sale Deed is produced by the respondents, but no further discussion was made as to why the said Sale Deed was not considered.We do not want to burden this judgment by reiterating the reasons assigned by the Reference Court as well as the High Court while refusing to rely on the Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974 produced by the claimants particularly when we find that the courts have on facts justified in doing so. We also find that there is no evidence to show the similarity in location/situation of the acquired landthe land which is the subject matter of the Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974. Moreover, the land involved in the Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974 is relatively very small piece of land having dimension to the extent of 1/4th of the land in question. While awarding the compensation for the acquired land, the Court must take into account several factors including fertility, yield, nature of soil, comparative sale statistics, its present use, its capacity for the higher potential, the precise location, potentiality to use forpurposes, the use to which the land was put, its proximity to develop as urban area etc. etc. It is also to be borne in mind the special value which ought to be attached in respect of the special advantages, if any, possessed by the land. In the matter on hand unfortunately, no such evidence was let in by the claimants to show that the land covered under Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974 is having the similar characteristics as the land in question. Therefore, both the Courts below have rightly not relied upon the Sale Deed dated 24.01.1974 while coming to the conclusion.The said judgment cannot be relied upon in the matter on hand, as much as, in the present matter, the Notification issued was of the year 1973 and whereas the Notification issued in the case of Suresh Prasad was in the year 2003 i.e. almost 30 years later. Moreover, the land involved in the Suresh Prasads case is situated in village Masoodabad which is stated to be about 5 K.Ms. far from village Roshan Pura wherein the land to be compensated is situated in this matter. In the case of Suresh Prasad, the Land Acquisition Collector had determined compensation of Rs. 15.70 lakhs per acre and the same was enhanced to Rs. 24 lakhs by this Court. The compensation determined in the case of Suresh Prasad was purely based on the facts of that case and there is nothing on record to show that the land involved in Suresh Prasads case was having the same characteristics as the land in the present matter.However, we do not find any reason to ignore the Sale Deed produced by the respondents in support of their case. As mentioned supra, the Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 is in respect of 11 bighas and 10 biswas of land situated in the village Roshan Pura. As per the said Sale Deed, the price per bigha of the land involved therein would be about Rs.Prima facie, the land in question as well as the land covered under the Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 are approximately having the similar dimension and are situated in the same village i.e. Roshan Pura. The respondents being the beneficiaries under the acquisition have themselves relied upon the Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 as the sole basis to oppose the prayer of the claimants. Some sort of guess work is necessary while determining compensation for the land acquired. One has to perceive from the view point of the prudent purchaser. As the acquisition is of the year 1973, we do not wish to remit the matter to Reference Court. Having regard to the totality of the facts and circumstances of the matter, in our considered opinion, the compensation may be determined relying upon the Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 particularly when there is no other reliable material on record. Since the land under the said Sale Deed dated 19.03.1971 was valued at a sum of Rs. 2,000/per bigha, and as the land in question was acquired in the year 1973, the compensation can be determined by adding 15% of the value of the sale consideration per year keeping in mind the escalation in price of the lands day by day. Normally 15% escalation is taken, per year by this Court in recent times while quantifying compensation. Thus, the claimants would be entitled to Rs. 2,600/