NATWARBHAI Vs. ADDL SPL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER AHMEDABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These seven appeals under S. 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, hereinafter referred to as the 'Act', arise out of a common judgment and different awards made by the learned Judge, Court No. 17, City Civil Court, Ahmedabad, in Land Reference Cases Nos. 50/79, 43/79, 44/79, 49/79, 51/79, 53/79 and 57/79 respectively.

(2.) The lands under acquisition situated in Vadej were acquired for construction of houses by the Gujarat Housing Board. The notification under S. 4 of the Act dated 17-8-71 was published in the Gujarat Government Gazette on 2-9-1971. It may be noted here that some other lands had already been acquired for this very purpose under another notification under S. 4 of the Act published on 29-1-1970, but the lands involved in the present appeals had been left out. Notifi-cation under S. 6 was published in the Gazette on 25-7-1971. After issuing notices to the interested persons and after hearing them under the relevant provisions of the Act, the Additional Special. Land Acquisition Officer, declared his Award on 22-5-79. As against the average claim of the claimants at the rate of Rs. 115/- per sq. mtr. the Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at different rates ranging from Rs. 13.00 to Rs. 35.00 per sq. mtr. Hence the dissatisfied claimants moved the authority to make reference to the City Civil Court 13 references were made and by consent of Advocates they were orders to be consolidated.

(3.) It is a curious feature of this group of cases that the claimants as well as the Acquiring Body and the Government chose not to lead any oral evidence. Reliance was placed only on the map Exh. 11 and a judgment of the City Civil Court in Land Acquisition Case No. 55/75, Exh. 12. The. parties submitted written Pursis Exhs. 15, 16, 17, 18, 21 and 22 declaring that they did. not want to lead any oral evidence whatsoever. The judgment in the Land Acquisition Case No. 55/75 was delivered by the City Civil Court in respect of lands which were acquired for the same purpose, under the earlier notification dated, 29-1-70. An attempt was made by the claimants advocate to compare different pieces of acquired lands with the lands which were valued in the Land Acqui-sition Case No. 55/75 in order that compensation at the same enhanced rate may be awarded to them also. The learned Judge, therefore, followed this line of comparing the acquired lands with certain instances of lands acquired in the previous acquisition without there being any evidence - oral or otherwise - except the map itself, which would show that the comparison could be made on any particular basis. In each case the learned Judge enhanced the compensation by making such comparison.