CHARAN DASS Vs. PUNJAB STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment will dispose of Regular First Appeal Nos. 813 to 8i5 of 1980 filed by the landowners, as they arise out of a common award of the District Judge. Gurdaspur. By issuance of notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short 'the Act') issued on 24th January 1978, land measuring 81 Acres 4 Kanals situated in village Paniar, Tehsil and District Gurdaspur was acquired by the State of Punjab for setting up a Sugar Mill at Paniar. The Land Acquisition Collector assessed the market value of the acquired land on the following rates : Nature of land Rate per acre Nehri and Chahi Rs. 7000/-Barani (I) Rs. 6144/-Barani (II) Rs. 5468/-Ghairmumkin Rs. 3000/ On reference under Section 18 of the Act the District Judge by award under challenge determined the market value of the entire acquired land at the rate of Rs. 10,000/- per acre. For arriving at the figure of Rs. 10,000/-, the District Judge has taken an average of transactions of sales produced by the claimants and the State that is, Exhibits A2 to A4, and R-ll to R-14 which were prior to the notification under Section 4 of the Act.

(2.) AFTER hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I am of the view that the average price fetched by sale deeds Exhibits A2 to A4 would be the best criterion to determine the market value of the acquired land. All these three sale deeds were executed and registered prior to the date of notification under Section 4 of the Act. By Exhibit A2, land measuring 4 Kanals of Nairn kind of land was sold for Rs. 8500/- bringing the average price of Rs. 17,000/- per acre. By Exhibit A3, 32 Kanals of land was sold for Rs. 40,030/- bringing out an average price of Rs. 10,003/- per Acre, whereas by Exhibit A4, 4 Kanals of land was said for Rs. 7503/- bringing the average price of Rs. 15,000/- pee Acre. The average sale price per Acre after clubbing "all these three transactions of sale comes to Rs. 14,000/ -. This amount, Id my view, would be the most reasonable, equitable and fair compensation for the acquired land. There are various reasons for relying upon these three transactions of safe rather than placing reliance on the sale deeds produced by the State. Firstly, the sale instances produced by the State could not be relied upon as all of them barring one Exhibit R. 12 pertain to the sale of Barani (II) land giving average price per Acre below than what was awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector. Most of the sale transactions produced by the State pertained to sale of pieces of land of Barani nature whereas it has been found as a fact by the learned District Judge that the entire acquired land was either canal irrigated or tubewel irrigated. Therefore, the sale transactions relating to Barani kind of land could not be considered for determining the market value of Cbahi or Mehri land. In the evidence produced by the State Exhibit R. 14 is the only sale instance relating to the sale of Nehri land. This sale transaction cannot be relied upon for two reasons. Firstly, the average price of this sale-transaction comes to Its. 5440/- which is below the rate determined by the Collector. Secondly, this sale transaction being a mutation cannot be taken into consideration being inadmissible In evidence. Above all, a firm and categorical finding has been recorded by the learned District Judge that the situation of the acquired land is better than the land sold by the sale deeds proved on the record of the case. The acquired land has been found by the District Judge to be abutting right on the metalled road and, therefore, it had great potentialities. It has been found that the acquired land had greater potentialities than the land which was sold by the sale transactions produced by both the claimants as well as by the State. It has come on on the record of the case that the acquired land is situated on the main road from Gurdaspur to Palhankot which is celled 'g. T. Pcad'. In view of all these findings, I am of the considered view that the average price fetched by sale deeds Exhibits A. 2 to A. 4 would truly represent the market value of the acquired land which has been adjudged by me at Rs. 14000/- per Acre.

(3.) IN the light of the observations made above, the appeals filed by the claimants are allowed with proportionate costs and the market value of the acquired land is determined at Rs. 14,000/per Acre. The appellants are also entitled to the statutory benefits of the amended provisions of Sections 23 (1-A), 23 (2) end 28 of the Land Acquisition Act.