PHULI DEVI Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) What should be the just and adequate measure of compensation for land acquired admeasuring 142.38 acres by a notification dated 15th May, 1979, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is the bone of contention between the parties in this group of appeals. The land sought to be acquired by the aforesaid notification was for the purposes of development of housing colony by Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in Hissar, Haryana.

(3.) The cases before us have a chequered history. The compensation determined by the High Court in the first round was Rs.23/- per sq. yard. The order of the High Court being challenged in appeal before this Court was set aside by a remand order which resulted in the matter being re-examined by the reference court. The reference court by its orders passed way back in the years 2011 and 2012 thought it proper to quantify the compensation at Rs.365/- per sq. yard, primarily based on compensation paid on acquisition made in the year 1975, in the case of Miss Nirupama Jain vs. The State of Haryana [R.F.A No.2019 of 1979]. The compensation awarded in Nirupama Jain's case was Rs.800/- per sq. yard. However, taking into account that the said acquisition was for commercial purpose and in the present case for residential purposes, a cut of 60% was applied by the reference court to fix the compensation at Rs.365/- per sq. yard.