GAJENDRABHAI RAMBHAI ODEDARA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have prayed for the following main relief :

(2.) Heard Mr.H.R.Prajapati, learned counsel for the petitioners and Ms.Manisha Lavkumar Shah, learned Government Pleader with Mr.Tirthraj Pandya, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the respondent State authorities.

(3.) The following facts emerge from the record of the petition. That the petitioners were owners of land bearing Survey No.143 part, admeasuring 1/12/30 Hectare-Aare-sq.mtrs. of land situated at Village Moti Khavdi, Taluka and District Jamnagar. The land belonging to the petitioners was sought to be acquired for the public purpose of Jamnagar-Vadinar State Four Lane road vide Notification dtd. 29/8/2002 issued under Sec. 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. After scrupulously following the procedure as prescribed under the Act, the land acquisition proceedings so initiated culminated into an award passed by the Land Acquisition Officer which was made and declared on 21/3/2005. The Land Acquisition Officer determined the market value of the land under acquisition belonging to the petitioners at Rs.20.00 per sq.meter. The record indicates that the possession of the land belonging to the petitioners was taken over on 30/5/2005. As the petitioners being the owners of the land in question were dissatisfied with the market value so fixed by the Land Acquisition Officer filed an application before the Land Acquisition Officer as provided under Sec. 18 of the Act, which came to be referred to the Reference Court and the same was registered as Land Reference Case No.21 of 2006 before the District Court at Jamnagar.