HAROON RASHEED Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH these appeals are preferred by the claimants. The acquisition was pursuant to Section 4(1) notification published on 04/02/05 and the purpose of acquisition was for providing parking area for Centre for Management. The Land Acquisition Officer awarded land value at the rate of Rs. 4,94,000/- per Are. Before the Reference Court the appellants relied on Exts.A4 and A5 documents. Under Exts.A4 and A5 documents, extensive property in the same village situated at a distance of just 50 metres from the property under acquisition had been purchased for a sum of Rs. 4 lakhs per cent. An Advocate Commissioner in Ext.C1 report opined that the acquired property is comparable to the property covered by Exts.A4 and A5. Nevertheless, the learned Subordinate Judge did not become inclined to rely on the opinion of the Commissioner. Finally the learned Subordinate Judge relied on his own judgment in LAR.219/07 which pertains to another acquisition in the same village and re-fixed the land value at Rs. 9,88,000/- per Are.

(2.) IN LAA.123/12 the ground mainly raised is that the learned Subordinate Judge should have relied on Exts.A4 and A5 and given additions at the rate of 15% per year for passage of the time between the date of the documents and date of promulgation of Section 4(1) notification. In LAA.123/12 there is an additional ground that the learned Subordinate Judge should have enhanced the compensation for the building which existed on the property for which the Land Acquisition Officer had awarded Rs. 3,77,000/-.

(3.) ALL the submissions of Sri.Ajakumar and Sri.Hanil Kumar were forcefully resisted by the learned Senior Government Pleaders in this Court, Sri.Aloysius Thomas and Sri.S.Jamal. According to them, there is no comparison between the properties under acquisition and the properties covered by Exts.A4 and A5. The purchasers under Exts.A4 and A5 were enthusiastic in purchasing those properties as they were keen on putting up a seven star hotel, first of its kind in Thiruvananthapuram city on the property purchased. They became inclined to pay whatever price that was demanded by the owners of those properties.