STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. KRISHAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application, the applicant Krishan Lal, whose land had been acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, prays that judgement rendered by this Court in L.P.A. No. 773 of 1982, State of Punjab v. Krishan Lal, on July 22, 1983, be modified and he be given the benefits of Sections 23(1A), 23(2) and 28, as introduced and amended by the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984. He accordingly prays for :-

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to this application are that the land of the petitioner had been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. After the Collector had made his award, the applicant took the matter up in reference under Section 18 of the Act before the Additional District Judge, Bhatinda, who, vide his order dated February 29, 1980, enhanced the compensation and directed that the same be calculated at the rate of Rs. 17/- per square yard. Aggrieved, the State of Punjab came up in appeal (R.F.A. No. 1752 of 1980) before this Court. The applicant also filed a cross-objection and claimed that the amount of compensation awarded by the Additional District Judge deserved to be enhanced. The learned single Judge, before whom the appeal and the cross-objection came up for hearing, enhanced the compensation payable to the applicant vide his judgement dated November 9, 1981, and directed that the same be calculated at the rate of Rs. 20/- per square yard. However, the said judgement of the learned single Judge was set aside by a Division Bench in L.P.A. 773 of 1982, on July 22, 1983, with the result that the order of the Additional District Judge dated February 29, 1980, awarding compensation to the applicant calculating the same at the rate of Rs. 17/- per square yard was restored. The parties submitted to the judgement dated July 22, 1983, and the matter rested there.

(3.) The acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act for public purposes became more numerous after independence. It was often found that poor people's land which was the only source of their livelihood became an inescapable necessity for the larger interest of the community, and compensation awarded to them under the provisions of the Act was, in the context, not adequate. The Government, therefore, introduced the Bill for making amendments in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on April 30, 1982, and eventually enacted the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as the Act and the Amending Act) which came into force on September 24, 1984. In order to achieve its objective, the Amending Act introduced Sub-Section (1A) in Section 23 of the Act providing for awarding of extra amount of 12 per cent of the market value of the land per annum for the entire period beginning from the issue of preliminary notification up to the award of the Collector or taking of possession of the land, whichever be earlier. It also amended Sub-Section (2) of Section 23 and increased the amount of solatium for compulsory acquisition from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. The amendment made in Section 28 of the Act had the effect of increasing the rate of interest payable on the amount awarded by a Court in excess of that awarded by the Collector from 6 per cent to 9 per cent for the first year and thereafter to 15 per cent per annum for the subsequent years till the payment thereof is made.