SPECIAL LAND ACQUISTION OFFICER Vs. KALYANJI DEWJI DHARSI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MR . Mody wishes to examine this witness further with regard to the damage sustained by the claimants by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting other property of the claimants. The plea is that as the land was acquired for use as a cemetery or a burial ground, the vicinity of a cemetery or a burial ground would injuriously affect the value of the remaining land of the claimants.

(2.) MR . Khandalwalla for the Special Land Acquisition Officer objects to such evidence being led on the ground that a claim for damages sustained by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting the other property of the claimants was not put forward at any time before the Special Land Acquisition Officer and it cannot be allowed to be put forward for the first time upon a reference.

(3.) IN order to determine this question, it is necessary to consider the scheme of the Act. Section 9(2) provides that upon a public notice being given of intention to acquire, the notice shall require all persons interested to appear before the Collector and to state the nature of their respective interests in the land and thx; amount and particulars of their claims to compensation for such interest. After this is done the Collector is directed by Section 15 to determine the amount of compensation in accordance with Sections 23 and 24. Section 23 sets out seriatim the matters which shall be taken into account in determining the amount of compensation. The first matter to be taken into account is the market value of the land at the date of the publication of the notification under Section 4(1), and the matters 'secondly' to 'sixthly' enumerated in this section as matters which shall be taken into account are all different kinds of damage sustained by the person interested by reason of the acquisition. The matter 'fourthly' enumerated relates to the damage sustained by reason of the acquisition injuriously affecting the claimant's other property. While in every case there must of necessity be some market value of the land acquired, there need not be in every case damage under all or any of the heads 'secondly' to 'sixthly' enumerated; and the only person who can be in a position to say that he has sustained damage by reason of the acquisition would obviously be the claimant, and he and he alone can be in a position to substantiate such a claim. It cannot be therefore that the: Special Land Acquisition Officer, in the absence of any claim for damages having been put forward before him, can conceivably take into account any claim for. damages in determining the compensation to be awarded ; and it appears to me to be plain that if a claimant desires to claim compensation on the basis of damage sustained under any of the heads 'secondly' to 'sixthly' set out in s. 23, he must so state in the particulars of his claim which he is required to put in by reason of Section 9(2) of the Land Acquisition Act.