LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER Vs. KAPILA PAIKRAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short 'the Act') by the Land Acquisition Officer, Puri, challenging the award dated 28.2.1997 passed in L. A. Misc. Case No. 315 of 1994 by which the Civil Judge (Sr. Divn.), Bhubaneswar granted compensation for the acquired land of the respondent -land oustee at a rate of Rs. 4,00,000/ - per acre along with other statutory benefits, such as, 12% additional compensation under Section 23, 30% solatium under Section 23(2) and interest at the rate of 9% per annum for the first year and 15% per annum for the subsequent years, till actual payment is made, as provided under Section 28 of the Act.

(2.) CONSEQUENT upon publication of the notification under Section 4(i) of the Act in the Orissa Gazette on 11.1.1984 the State Government acquired several plots of land indicated therein including plot No. 125 under Khata No. 2 with an area of Ac. 0.501 in Mouza Bharatpur under Bhubaneswar P.S. in Puri district belonging to the present respondent for establishment of a public garden named 'Ekamra Kanan'. For the aforesaid acquisition, the Land Acquisition Officer, Puri, granted compensation at the rate of Rs. 55,000/ -per acre along with the admissible statutory benefits in favour of the respondent -land oustee. The land oustee received the aforesaid compensation with protest and claimed higher compensation at the rate of Rs. 5,00,000/ - per acre, which according to him was the prevailing market rate of the acquired land on the date of the notification under Section 4(i) of the Act. The matter was ultimately referred to the learned Civil Judge (Sr. Divn.), Bhubaneswar under Section 18 of the Act for determination of fair amount of compensation.

(3.) THE State Government with a view to acquire lands for establishing a public garden named 'Ekamra Kanan' in Bhubaneswar issued three notifications under Section 4(i) of the Act dated 11.1.1984 (Ext. 1), 8.5.1984 (Ext. 2) and 24.8.1984 (Ext. 6) under which, several plots of land as indicated therein were acquired in two adjoining Mouzas Nayapalli and Bharatpur including the land of the present petitioner appertaining to plot No. 125 in Mouza Bharatpur. On reference being made at the instance of certain land -oustees covered by the aforesaid notifications of Mouza Nayapalli, the reference Court by the judgments passed in L.A. Misc. Case Nos. 120/88 (Ext, 3), 74/88 (Ext. 8) and 364/94 (Ext. 9) fixed the market value of the land at the rate of Rs. 4,00,000/ - per acre. The court below found that the lands involved in the aforesaid three L. A. Misc. Cases (Exts. 3, 8 and 9) appertaining to Mouza Nayapaili were adjacent to and in close vicinity of the present acquired land of the petitioner. The Court relied upon the evidence of the Amin, O.P.W. 1, who stated that plot No. 960 of Mouza Nayapalli belonging to the petitioner -Premalata Sarangi in L. A. Misc. Case No. 364/ 94 adjoined plot No. 125 of the present petitioner in Mouza Bharatpur and the State Government also accepted -the award passed in L. A. Misc. Case No. 364/94 (Ext. 9), wherein the market value was fixed at Rs. 4,00,000/ - per acre. Basing upon the aforesaid evidence and accepting the valuation determined in the aforesaid L. A. Misc. Cases (Exts. 3, 8 and 9), the Court below held that the market value of the acquired land would be Rs. 4,00,000/ - per acre on the date of publication of the notification under Section 4(i) of the Act dated 11.1.1984 (Ext. 1) and that the petitioner would be entitled to get compensation at the aforesaid rate along with other admissible statutory benefits. The Land Acquisition Officer has come up with the present appeal challenging the aforesaid judgment on the ground that the Court below has gone wrong in accepting the version of the land -oustee and in relying upon the previous judgments passed by the said Court in L. A. Misc. Case Nos. 120/88, 74/88 and 364/94.