ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER LAND Vs. MAHADEV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal preferred by the State against the judgment and award passed by the Additional Civil Judge, Senior Division, Raichur in lac No. 189 of 1998, dated 17-4-1999 filed under Section 18 of the Land acquisition Act questioning the legality and validity of the said judgment and award in enhancing the market value of the land of the first respondent from Rs. 9,000/- per acre as fixed by the Land Acquisition officer to Rs. 74,000/- per acre.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the above appeal are that several extents of lands in S. Nos. 194/al, 194/a2, 193, 193/u, 193/e, 192/a, 201/2, 221/a and 229 etc. , in all seven different pieces of land situated in Korvi village of Manvi Taluk came to be acquired by issue of a preliminary notification under Section 4 of the Act dated 18-8-1994. These lands belonged to seven different persons. The first respondent owned an extent of one acre twenty guntas in S. No. 221/a amongst the seven pieces of lands acquired under the said notification. In respect of the lands acquired, the Land Acquisition Officer had fixed the market value at Rs. 9,oooa per acre for the purpose of compensating the respondent-land-owner as per his award dated 10-11-1996. The Land Acquisition Officer had fixed same or similar value in respect of the other pieces of lands acquired under the same notification.

(3.) THE respondent and other landowners, being aggrieved by the very nominal value fixed in respect of their lands, had sought for referring the matters to the Civil Court by filing appropriate applications under the Act. The respondent's application was numbered as L. A. C. No. 189 of 1998. The other six landowners had also sought for similar references and their applications were also before the Civil Court. It appears, all the cases were clubbed together and common evidence was let in. The civil Court enhanced the compensation to Rs. 74,000/- per acre on the premise that in respect of the lands which were acquired under another acquisition proceedings which were subject-matter of reference for enhancement before the Court in L. A. C. Nos. 19 to 27 of 1998, based on the yield certificate produced in those proceedings which had been marked as Ex. P. 32 in LAC. Nos. 19 to 27 of 1998, the value of the land had been fixed at around Rs. 74,340/ -. The Civil Court noticed that this value had been fixed by the Court in those cases mainly depending on the yield certificate produced in those cases to the effect that the average annual yield of Jaider cotton could be taken as seven quintals and taking the price of cotton at Rs. 1,770/- per quintal and after allowing for the expenditure incurred for cultivation, the net yield per year would come to Rs. 7,434/- and applying the multiplier 10 for valuing, based on such yield, the market value was fixed at Rs. 7,434/ -. The Civil Court allowed all the seven references and in all the cases on the very same material, enhanced the value of the land from Rs. 9,oooa per acre fixed by the Land Acquisition Officer to Rs. 74,000/- per acre.