STATE OF BIHAR Vs. BINDESHWAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arise out of a common reference under Section 18 of the Land Acauisition Act, 1894. 13-90 acres of land were acquired by the State Government at Bakhtiarpur for construction of N. E. S. Block cum Anchnl head quarters. A composite notification was made under Section 4 road with Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act on the 18th September, 1957. after Possession had already been taken on the 13th June. 1957. Out of the acauired lands. 13.53 acres were classified as Bhith lands and 0.7 acre was classified as Banswari. The present appeals are confined to the amount of compensation awarded in respect of the Bhith lands only: there being no dispute as to the amount of compensation in respect of the Banswari, The Collector fixed the rate of compensation for the acquired lands at Rs. 5926/- per acre, modifying the rate of Rs 8240/- per acre suggested by the Land Acquisition Officer. To the above rate fixed by the Collector, statutory compensation at the rate of 15 per cent with Interest was also added.

(2.) On the application of the awardees reference was made under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act which was heard by the Special Land Acquisition Judge, Patna. the learned Special Judge by his Judgment under appeal fixed the rate of compensation for the acquired lands at Rs. 700/- per katha which works out at Rs. 22.400/- per acre. This is in addition to the statutory compensation, interest and proportionate costs.

(3.) In the present appeals Councel for the State of Bihar Challenged the finding of the Court below on the ground that one of the consideration which weighed with the learned Special Judce In enhansing the rate of compensation was the order of compensation passed in Land Acquisition Case No. 127 of 1957-58 (Exhibit 2) in which possession was taken one year later than the possession in the present case. On behalf of the respondents, our attention was drawn by Mr. Lakshman Saran Sinha to the order dated the 18th June. 1958, passed in Land Acauisition Case No. 127 of 1957-58. by which Rs. 1250/- per katha was fixed as compensation for the acauired lands dealt with in Exhibit 2, but, as rightly submitted by Mr. Sinha, possession over the as quired lands referred to in Exhibit 2 must have been taken sometime in 1957 as the Land Acauisition case related to that year. The lands acquired under Exhibit 2. according to the learned Special Judge were situate to the east of the lands now under acquisition and were not so advantageous as the present lands. It may be stated that the learned Special Judge inspected the lands under acquisition in the present case in presence of parties in order to understand the site, the situation and the quality of those lands vis-a-vis the lands covered by Exhibit 2 and the lands of the vieinity which had been sold under different sale deeds. He found that the rates of sale varied according to the necessity of the seller and the urgency of the purchaser. One of the latest sale deeds was Exhibit 1, dated the 13th July. 1957 by which an area of one Katha in plot No. 1121 was sold for Rs. 300/-. According to the learned Special Judge this plot was situate on the other side of the railway line and was much lower in level than the lands under the present acquisition The land of the aforesaid plot No. 1121 was subject to yearly floods and could not thus be made the basis of compensation for the lands acauired in the present case which were on the tri-junction of the main road at Bakhtiarpur leading to Patna. Ranchi and Barauni. The learned Special Judge on consideration of all these facts fixed the rate of compensation for the present acquired lands at Rs. 700/- per katha. in this state of affairs, no exception can be taken to the rate of compensation allowed by the learned Special Judae.