MONICA XAVERINHA FERNANDES Vs. DEPUTY COLLECTOR AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal directed against the award of the learned District Judge, Panaji, dated. 29.11.1986 in Reference Case No. 61/81, under Sec. 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter called the Act), whereby the learned Judge has partly allowed the appellant's prayer and enhanced the rate of the land acquired from Rs. 6/- to Rs. 20.00 rejecting the remaining two prayers for a higher apportionment of the amount awarded between her and the Comunidade and an increase in the valuation of the trees located in the acquired plot.

(2.) By Notification No. RD/LQN/311/78 dated. 30.11.1979 which was published in the Government Gazette dated 13.12.1979 the Government acquired a vast tract of land ad-measuring 75,347 square meters at Bambolim plateau belonging to the Comunidade of Cujira for the purpose of extension of Goa Medical College Complex. An area of44,400 square meters was tenanted to the appellant and the plot was containing cashew and other trees. Before the Land Acquisition Officer the appellant claimed compensation based on Rs. 40.00 per square meter, but the Land Acquisition Officer by his award dated 13.11.1980 fixed only Rs. 6/- per square meter and directed the said compensation be shared between the tenant and the Comunidade in the proportion 50:50. The case of the appellant is that her share should be 60% and that of the Comunidade should be only 40%.

(3.) Smt. Agni, learned counsel for the appellant, first submission while challenging the impugned award is that the rate of Rs.20 per square meter allowed by the learned District Judge is highly inadequate and against the evidence on record. It was vehemently contended by Smt. Agni that the learned Judge totally overlooked the fact that the suit land was situated adjacent to the Panaji/Agacaim National Highway and just across the road in front of the Goa Medical College Complex. The learned Judge also grossly ignored the frontage of the land acquired towards the Highway and the circumstance of the same being almost a flat land with a hard soil and thus very much fit for construction purposes,availing also of all amenities like water, electricity and regular transport. Besides, the said land was also situated very close to the Post and Telegraph Office Staff Colony, quarters of Doctors and Staff of Goa Medical College and Military camp of the Signal Training Centre situated at a little distance away from the plot in question. Smt. Agni, was very much aggrieved that the learned Judge had simply discarded the Sale Deed dated 21.9.1977 produced by the appellant whereby a plot of land in the vicinity of the suit plot was sold, two years prior to the acquisition, at the rate of Rs. 43/-per square meter. Smt Agni urged that no cogent reasons were given by the learned Judge to refuse to consider its relevancy in this case on the sole ground that the sale plot was smaller in size in relation to the acquired land. The learned Judge could have at least given in this respect a sufficient deduction on account of the largess of the plot acquired while trying to compare the market value of similar land in the neighbourhood about 4 years prior to the acquisition . Reliance was placed on the decision of Smt. Kausalya Devi Bogra and others Vs. Land Acquisition Officer, Aurangabad and another, AIR 1984 SC 892 which has held that for determining the market value of a large property on the basis of a sale transaction for any other property a deduction should be given, because when large tracts arc acquired, the transactions in respect of small properties do not offer a proper guideline. According to Smt. Agni the sale plot was located far from the National Highway in the interior of the village Cujira and was, therefore, not enjoying the same facilities as availed of by the suit plot. Besides, the learned judge did not give adequate weightage to the fact that he himself had allowed an enhancement of rate in respect of similar land acquired in 1975 i.e., 4 years before the acquisition of the suit plot in the year 1979 and had awarded Rs. 20.00 per square meter vide award dated. 29.3.1985 in Land Acquisition Case No. 98/79. This by itself suggests, according to Smt. Agni, that the learned judge did not give any consideration to the escalation of the prices of land in respect whereof he was supposed to take judicial notice so as to fix a reasonable higher rate to the land subsequently acquired in the same area, being of a similar nature and situated at a close distance from the acquired land.