JHANGI RAM Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) About 23.93 acres of village Jamalpur Kalan was acquired for the planned development of Sector 14, Sonepat, vide corrected notification dated 25.11.1969, issued under Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The Land Acquisition Collector vide his award dated 30.3.1972 awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 84/- per biswa which comes to Rs. 1.16 per square yard. On a reference made under Section 18 of the Act, the Additional District Judge, Sonepat, vide his award dated 7.3.1981, enhanced the rate of compensation to Rs. 6/- per square yard. Still dissatisfied, the appellant-landowners herein, approached this Court in appeal and through Cross-Objections to the appeals filed by the State of Haryana claiming compensation at the rate of Rs. 20/- per square yard. The learned Single Judge, who decided the bunch of RFA. as arising from the same acquisition proceedings, did not increase the amount awarded by the Additional District Judge. So, the present Letters Patent Appeal Nos. 1251, 1264 and 1280 to 1282 of 1982 which involve common question of law and basic facts and are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) The claimants in support of their claim relied upon instances Exhibits P-1 to P-14 as also on an award Exhibit P-20 rendered by the High Court in Salig Ram and others v. State of Haryana, RFA 466 of 1971, decided on 7.11.1979. The High Court in that case had awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 16/- per square yard for the land abutting the main road and Rs. 10/- for the land lying farther away which came to be acquired vide notification published under Section 4 on 5.5.1965.

(3.) The Additional District Judge, out of the instances relied upon by the claimants, found instances exhibits P-10 and P-11 only somewhat relevant. These were instances of free scale of 11 bighas and 1 biswa and 8 bighas and 2 biswas effected on 23.10.1970 and 7.7.1970 respectively. Making an allowance for the distance which separated these two pieces of land from the land of the claimants, the Additional district Judge could persuade himself to award only Rs. 6/- per square yard.