SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER SURAT Vs. CHANDULAL JAGJIVANDAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These first appeals under sec. 54 of the Land Acquisition Act are filed by the Special Land Acquisition Officer branch No. 4 Surat challenging the common judgment and orders passed by the learned Extra Assistant Judge Surat in land reference case Nos. 5 and 8 of 1972 respectively. First Appeal No. 178 of 1976 arises out of judgment in land reference case No. 5 of 1972 while First Appeal No. 179 of 1976 arises out of the judgment in land reference case No. 8 of 1972. The claimant in land reference case No. 8 of 1972 has also filed cross objections in first Appeal No. 179 of 1976.

(2.) A few relevant facts leading to these appeal may now be seen. The acquired property was situated on Kotshafil road in the city of Surat which was Nondh No. 2432-B of Ward No. 8. It comprised of two Survey Numbers 2432 and 2558 which were consolidated and formed into Nonth No. 2432-B he acquired property consisted of one house and the land below it. The total area of the acquired property was 112-2 sq. yds. The acquired property originally belonged to the grandfather of the respondent in First Appeal No. 178 of 1976 which arises out of land reference case No. 5 of 1972 on the file of the trial Court. The father of the claimant of land reference case No. 5 of 1972 inherited the property in question from his father. The father of the claimant in land reference case No. 5 of 1972 died in 1969. The acquired property fell to the share of the claimant of land reference case No. 5 of 1972 in partition that tools place on 30-4-1966 amongst the father and brothers of the claimant and the claim of land reference case no. 5 of 1972. As stated earlier the acquired property originally consisted of two survey numbers or Nondh numbers at the time of the partition that is Nondh Nos. 2558 and 2432. The property bearing Nondh No. 2432 was admeasuring 56 sq. yds. and the property bearing Nondh No. 2558 was admeasuring 56. 2 sq. yds. Sometime after the said partition the acquired property was given new Nondh No. 2432 13 as slated above. The whole of the acquired property being Nondh No. 2432 was sought to be acquired by the State of Gujarat for the road widening purpose at the suggestion of the Surat Municipal Corporation. The notification under sec. 4 was issued on 2-9-1975 arid it was published in the Government gazette on 30-9-1965. Section 6 notification was published in the Government gazette on 24-3-1966. The claimant was served with a notice under sec. 9 of the Act. He preferred his claim before the land acquisition officer in response to that notice. It may be noted at this stage that the acquired properly was a lease hold property from the Government for a period of 99 years and on the said land which was leased by the Government in favour of the predecessor in title of the claimant of land reference case No. 5 of 1972 a two storeyed structure was put up by his predecessor. It is an admitted position between the parties that the structure stood on the entire land which was leased by the Government under two lease deeds Exs. 25 and 26 which were executed by the then Collector of Surat in favour of the predecessorin title of the claimant of land reference case No. 5 of 1972. The claimant in land reference case No. 5 of 1972 claimed before the L. A. Officer Rs. 44 888 as compensation for the acquired lease hold land and Rs. 18 0 as compensation for the structure which belonged to him and which originally was put up by his predecessor in title on the land which was taken on lease for 99 years from the Government. On the claimed amount solatium at 15% was also prayed for. So far as the structure standing on the acquired land was concerned it was already let out to a tenant who had put up a factory therein. The tenant of the said superstructure also put forward his claim for compensation before the land acquisition officer. He claimed Rs. 30 0 for loss of business as he had to shift his business from the tenant premises which were demolished after acquisition to other premises at Udhna. He also claimed Rs.5000/ for dismantling and removing the machineries which he had affixed in the structure which was let out to him. He also claimed Rs. 500/as retrenchment compensation paid by him to his workers.

(3.) So far as the claim of the claimant who was the lessee Or the land from the Government was concerned the land acquisition officer evaluated the land in question at Rs. 120/per sq.yd. against the claim of Rs. 430/per sq. yd as put forward by the claimant. However the land acquisition officer did not award any amount to the claimant by way of his claim for compensation for the land acquired as in the view of the land acquisition officer the land belonged to the Government and the claimant was a mere lessee for 99 years and consequently he was not entitled according to 2 Land Acquisition Officer to any amount of compensation for the land acquired which did not belong to him but belonged to the Government. So far as the compensation for the super structure was concerned he however awarded Rs. 6200/as compensation for the super structure and Rs. 930/as solatium.