GOVERNMENT Vs. CENTURY SPINNING AND MANUFACTURING CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal from a decision of Mr. , Justice B. J. Wadia awarding compensation on a reference under the Land Acquisition Act referred to him under Section 18 of the Act.

(2.) THE land to be acquired has an area of 16, 585 square yards, and it has a frontage of 473 feet to a sixty feet road, and a frontage of 518 feet to a forty feet road. It was conveyed to the claimants by two conveyances, one made in 1924 and the other in 1928, by the Bombay Improvement Trust, who have now been succeeded by the Bombay Municipality. THE land was conveyed as freehold, but subject under both conveyances to certain restrictive covenants. In the first conveyance the user was confined to residential purposes, offices and such class of shops only as were not prohibited by the grantors; and under the later conveyance, which included the larger part of the land, the user was restricted to shops, chawls, offices, residences, go-downs and a Wireless Broadcasting Station. Under neither grant was there any power to use as a factory. THE building was restricted to ground-floor and three upper floors, and certain spaces were to be left unbuilt upon.

(3.) ON a reference to this Court the learned Judge treated the whole plot as one, and fixed the market value at Rs. 14-8-0 per square yard. He made his award on the footing that the claimants possessed an unrestricted freehold interest. He also gave Re. 1-4-0 per square yard for damage for severance and injurious affection. I agree with the learned Judge in thinking that there is no good reason for dividing this piece of land into two plots. It is all one compact area, and both plots have a frontage on the sixty feet road; and, in my opinion, there is no good reason1 for valuing] plot A on a much higher basis than plot B. I think one ought to value the whole plot together. But on the question whether the plot should be valued, and compensation fixed, on the basis that it is not subject to any restrictions, although in fact it is so subject, I am quite unable to agree with the learned Judge's view.