RAJENDRA PRASAD Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE original claimant was Keshri Prasad who had filed this appeal against the judgment and award dated 18.2.1993 passed by Sri Y.P. Bhagat, Sub Judge - II, Arrah in Land Acquisition Case No. 4 of 1987. During the pendency of this appeal he died and his legal representatives have been substituted in his place, who are appellants.

(2.) IT appears that 1.86 acres of lands of the claimants -appellants comprising within plot Nos. 363, 364 and 447 within Khata Nos. 42, 43 and 39 were acquired by the State of Bihar for the purposes of constructing Bandh to prevent flood. The said lands were acquired in Land Acquisition Case 5/5 of 1983 -84 and notification under Section 4 was notified in Gazette on 30.9.1983. Award No. 7 was prepared in the name of Keshri Prasad for Rs. 13,368.75 paise including the soletium and interest. The claimants -appellants filed application under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act praying for enhancement of the compensation on the ground that the market value of the land acquired was Rs. 40,000/ - per acre on the date of acquisition. The said application was referred by the Collector to the civil court.

(3.) THE learned Counsel Mr. R.K.P. Singh appearing on behalf of the appellants submitted that the learned court below has wrongly not based the three sale deeds produced by the appellants while determining the market value of the lands acquired. The learned Counsel further submitted that the lands involved in the three sale deeds are of the same village and were in the vicinity of the lands of the claimants and, therefore, these evidences were important for determining the market value of the land acquired. The learned Counsel further submitted that no contrary evidence was adduced by the State of Bihar to show that the nature of land acquired defers from the nature of land involved in the three sales deeds Ext. 1, 1 -A and 1 -B and, therefore, the court below should have relied upon the above sales deeds and should have determined the marked value of the land acquired on the basis of the said sale deeds. The learned Counsel further submitted that it was not considered that by the acquisition of the land the appellants was compelled to change his profession of cultivation because most of the lands were acquired. The learned counsel further submitted that the learned court below has also not considered that because of severance of the acquired land from the other lands of the appellants the value of the remaining lands diminished. On these grounds the learned Counsel submitted that the impugned judgment and award are liable to be set aside and at least the average value of three sale deeds should be determined as rate for market value of the lands acquired. According to the learned Counsel the average valuation of the land of three sale deeds will be Rs. 33,333/ - per acres. The learned Counsel further submitted that the purchasers of the lands in those sale deeds have been examined as PW 2, PW 3 and PW 4 by the appellants and according to PW 1 the lands involved in the sale deed are only 40 -50 yard from the acquired land.