RADHAKRISHNAN NAIR Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The claimant, who is not satisfied with the award of compensation by the land acquisition reference court, has preferred this appeal. The acquisition was for the purpose of construction of Kaloor - Kadavanthra Road. Relevant Section 4(1) notification was published on 25/7/1978.

(2.) The land acquisition officer awarded land value at the rate of Rs. 4750/- per Are, which was enhanced under the impugned judgment by the reference court to Rs. 9500/- per Are. The evidence before the reference court regarding the market value of the property under acquisition was Exts. A2 and A3 only. ExtA2 was a copy of the sale document executed on 18-10-2001 which is some 13 years after Section 4(1) notification. Ext. A3 was executed in 2005 some 17 years after Section 4(1) notification. Exts. A2 reflected land value of Rs. 5 Lakhs and 9 Lakhs respectively. Exts. A2 and A3 were, in our opinion, rightly rejected by the learned Subordinate Judge. Ultimately what the learned Subordinate Judge did was to rely on the basis documents itself and take into account the passage of time between the basis document and the date of publication of Section 4(1) notification, give addition and arrive at the value fixed by him. The claimant urges that the court below went wrong in determining the market value of the acquired property as on the date of publication of Section 4(1) notification. It is contended that on account of the inordinate delay, which has been occasioned in the matter of taking over of possession, considerable damages have been sustained by the claimant and taking those damages into account, the land acquisition authority as well as the reference court should have fixed the market value of the acquired property at the time of taking over of possession and not at the time of publication of Section 4(1) notification.

(3.) We have heard the submissions of Smt. Santhamma Issac, learned Counsel for the appellant and those of Smt. Sumathi Dandapani, learned senior counsel for the requisitioning authority GCDA. We have also heard Smt. Latha T/Thankappan, learned senior Government Pleader also,