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    NON-REPORTABLE  

          IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA                      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NOS.4269-4278 OF 2019 (Arising out of SLP(C)Nos.31767-31776/2017)

SARDARA SINGH & ORS. ETC.ETC.      ... APPELLANT(S)  

               VS.

 LAND ACQUISITION COLLECTOR, IMPROVEMENT TRUST, RUPNAGAR & ORS.     ... RESPONDENT(S)

WITH  

CIVIL APPEAL NOS.4279-4280 OF 2019 (Arising out of SLP(C)Nos.10602-10603/2019 @ D.No.6472/2018)

JARNAIL SINGH & ORS.      ... APPELLANT(S)  

               VS.

 PUNJAB STATE THROUGH THE COLLECTOR /DEPUTY COMMISSIONER & ANR.     ... RESPONDENT(S)

       J U D G M E N T

  UDAY UMESH LALIT, J.

1. Delay condoned in SLP(C)....D.No.6472/2018.

2. Leave granted.

3. In the present cases, three notifications were issued

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on 18.6.1993, 25.6.1993 and 2.7.993 under Section 36 of the

Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922 (hereinafter referred to

as "the Act"), covering an extent of land admeasuring 24

acres 6 Kanals and 11 marlas.   Thereafter, by notification

dated 28.4.1994, a scheme under Section 42 of the Act,

known as Transport Nagar Scheme, Rupnagar, was sanctioned.

The Award was declared on 18.4.1996 and Land Acquisition

Collector, Rupnagar, awarded compensation at the following

rates for different categories of land :

"Chahi Land : Rs.2,01,984/- per acre

Barani Land : Rs.1,00,992/- per acre

Gair Mumkin Land : Rs.1,39,200/- per acre"

4. On  reference  being  made  by  the  land  holders,  the

District  Judge,  Rupnagar,  awarded  compensation  @

Rs.6,93,000/- (Rupees Six Lakhs Ninety Three Thousand) per

acre  besides  severance  charges  vide  his  Award  dated

9.11.2001.   

The order had observed as under :

"12.....  From  the  evidence  on  record,  it  is apparent that the acquired land is situated on the Chandigarh-Ropar-Nangal National Highway and R.T.P. Colony consisting of 700/800 house is just across the link road on one side and on the other side, there is police lines in which there are about 100 quarters shopping complex Bank School are there in the RTF Colony.  There are also shops  on  both  sides  of  the  road  leading  from Ropar  up  to  the  land  acquired.   The  land  of village  Kotla  Nihang  falls  behind  the  police lines.  132 KV Colony of PSEB is also situated near the acquired land."

and

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13. The  then  learned  District  Judge,  Rupnagar has already assessed market value of the acquired land for Bela Road part-II Scheme through copy of Award  Ex.P3  at  the  rate  of  Rs.5,25,000/-  per acre.  The land involved in the said case was low lying area as whole of the rainy and other water of Rupnagar town flows towards the said land.  As per discussion made above, the land acquired in the present case is on better footing and has great potential value than that of land acquired for Bela Road, Part-II, Development Scheme.  The land  in  the  said  case  was  acquired  through Notification  dated  12.4.1989.   Whereas  the material date of determining the market value of the  acquired  land  in  the  present  case  is 18.6.1993.  Thus, there was a difference of 4 years between the two notifications.  Though in 1994  (4)  P.L.R.  243  (supra),  the  price  rise between two dated of notifications was allowed at the rate of 12% per annum, but in view of the potential  value  and  proximity  of  the  land acquired  in  the  present  case,  the  price  rise between the two dates of notifications is allowed at the rate of 8% per annum.  Therefore, I hold that the present claimant is entitled to receive compensation of the acquired land at the flat rate of Rs.6,93,000/- per acre as it is situated within  the  municipal  limits  of  Rupnagar  and cannot be taken as Agricultural land."    

5. The matter was carried further by the land holders by

filing Civil Writ Petition No.2718/2002 in the High Court

of  Punjab  and  Haryana  at  Chandigarh.   The  Improvement

Trust, being aggrieved by the enhanced rate of compensation

awarded by the District Judge, also filed writ petitions.

The High Court by its judgment and order dated 26.11.2011

quashed the Award dated 9.11.2001 on the ground that the

matter had to be decided by the  Tribunal headed by the

District Judge and not by the District Judge alone.  The

matters were  therefore remanded  to the  Land Acquisition

Tribunal, Rupnagar, for fresh consideration.  

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6. Post remand, the District Judge by his oder dated

1.2.2014 awarded compensation at the following rates :

"Chahi Land @   : Rs.2,69,312/- per acre

Barani Land @   : Rs.1,34,656/- per acre

Gair Mumkin Land @  : Rs.1,85,600/- per acre"

7. The matters again reached the High Court by way of

challenges at the instance of the land holders and the High

Court by its judgment and order dated 9.2.2017 modified the

decision of  the Land  Acquisition Tribunal,  Rupnagar and

assessed the compensation @ Rs.2,69,312/- (Rupees Two Lakhs

Sixty  Nine  Thousand  Three  Hundred  &  Twelve)  per  acre

irrespective  of  the  categories  of  land.   Thus,  the

compensation was awarded at a flat rate by the High Court.

This decision is presently under challenge.

8. Mr.  Neeraj  Kumar  Jain,  learned  senior  counsel,

principally  relied  upon  the  fact  that  in  respect  of

acquisition  of  certain  land  coming  from  an  adjoining

village where the acquisition was initiated in the year

1989, compensation was awarded @ Rs.5,25,000/- (Rupees Five

Lakhs Twenty Five Thousand) per acre.  This aspect was

highlighted before the Land Acquisition Tribunal and the

submission was noted in the Award dated 1.2.2014 as under :

"13. The counsel for the applicants have relied upon the award passed by the High Court in RFA No.291 of 1989.  The copy of the same is |Ex.P- 1,  vide  which  the  land  of  Kotla  Nihang  was acquired vide notification dated 20.3.1985 and the  Hon'ble  High  Court  was  pleased  to  award compensation to the appellants at the rate of Rs.4,84,000/-  per  acre.   The  applicants  have

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also placed on record copy of award passed in consolidated land reference lead case No.141 of 24.9.1993 decided on 25.4.1998 by the Court of Shri S.S. Grewal, District Judge, Rupnagar Ex.P- 2 and  Ex.P-3, vide  which the  applicants were granted  enhanced  amount  of  compensation regarding  the  land  of  village  Haveli  Khurd acquired vide notification dated 12.4.1989 and in  that  case,  the  applicants  were  granted compensation at the rate of Rs.5,25,000/- per acre for the acquired land."  

9. What emerges therefore is that in respect of lands

coming  from  Kotla  Nihang,  which  were  acquired  vide

notification dated 20.3.1985, the compensation was awarded

@ Rs.4,84,000/- (Rupees Four Lakhs Eighty Four Thousand)

per acre and in respect of lands which were acquired from

village Haveli Khurd vide notification dated 12.4.1989 the

compensation was awarded @ Rs.5,25,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs

Twenty Five Thousand) per acre.  Mr. Jain relied upon the

site map appended at page 178 of the paper book to bring

home the point that these two villages are adjoining to the

village, with which we are presently concerned.

10. Mr.  S.C.  Pathela,  learned  counsel  appearing  for

Respondent-Improvement Trust, submitted that the site plan,

on which reliance was placed, was never exhibited before

the Courts below and as laid down by this Court in Manoj

Kumar Vs. State of Haryana & Ors., (2018) 13 SCC 96, the

rate  awarded  in  previous  acquisitions  ought  not  to  be

readily relied upon.  We have gone through the decision of

this  Court  in  Manoj  Kumar  (supra).   In  our  view,  the

observations in the said case were made in the context of

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the peculiar facts of the matter.

11. The fact that the acquisition in the aforesaid two

villages  was  relied  upon  before  the  Land  Acquisition

Tribunal is quite evident from the discussion as aforesaid.

The  location  and  the  potential  of  the  lands  under

acquisition and their proximity with the lands from Kotla

Nihang and Haveli Khurd was the basis of computation in the

Award  dated  9.11.2001  which  was  set  aside  purely  on  a

technical ground.  The rates awarded in respect of those

acquisitions were Rs.4,85,000/- (Rupees Four Lakhs Eight

Five Thousand) and Rs.5,25,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs Twenty

Five Thousand) per acre.  The acquisitions were of the

years  1985  and  1989.   We  are  presently  concerned  with

acquisitions which were initiated pursuant to notifications

issued in the year 1993.   

12. In our view, the compensation as awarded in respect

of  these  two  villages  is  a  pointer  which  cannot  be

disregarded.  The extent of land involved in the present

matters  is  25  acres  of  land  which  was  to  be  used  for

Transport Nagar Scheme, essentially an urban requirement.

We, therefore, rely upon rate of Rs.5,25,000/- (Rupees Five

Lakhs Twenty Five Thousand) per acre, as awarded in the

year 1989 to be the base rate to arrive at the appropriate

compensation for the acquisition in 1993, i.e., after four

years.  In the circumstances, in our view, the appellants

are entitled to 6% cumulative increase over the base rate

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of Rs.5,25,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs Twenty Five Thousand)

irrespective of the category of land is awarded to the land

holders.

13. The working of compensation on the basis of such base

rate, is as under :

 PRINCIPAL               INTEREST      TOTAL AMOUNT

 1st Year Rs.5,25,000   + 31,500      = 5,56,500/-

 2nd Year Rs.5,56,500   + 33,390      = 5,89,890/-

 3rd Year Rs.5,89,890    + 35,393   = 6,25,283/-  

 4th Year Rs.6,25,283   + 37,517    = 6,62,800/-

14. We  allow  these  appeals  and  declare  that  the

appellants are entitled to compensation in respect of lands

in present acquisition at the rate of Rs.6,62,800/- (Rupees

Six Lakhs Sixty Two Thousand Eight Hundred only) per acre

and  statutory  benefits  on  the  basis  of  such  rate.   No

costs.  

...........................J. [UDAY UMESH LALIT]

...........................J. [INDU MALHOTRA]

New Delhi; 24th April, 2019.

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ITEM NO.2               COURT NO.8               SECTION IV-B

              S U P R E M E  C O U R T  O F  I N D I A                        RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).31767-31776/2017

(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 09-02-2017  in CWP Nos.722/2015, 5869/2014, 6070/2014, 6069/2014 and 6074/2014  and dated 02-06-2017 in RA-CW No.284/2017 (O&M) in CWP No.722/2015, RA-CW No.290/2017 (O&M) in CWP No.5869/2014, RA-CW No.295/2017  (O&M) in CWP No.6070/2014, RA-CW No.296/2017 (O&M) in CWP No. 6069/2014 and RA-CW No.294/2017 (O&M) in CWP No.6074/2014 passed by the High Court Of Punjab & Haryana At Chandigarh)

SARDARA SINGH & ORS.ETC.ETC.                       Petitioner(s)

                               VERSUS

LAND ACQUISITION COLLECTOR, IMPROVEMENT TRUST,  RUPNAGAR & ORS.   Respondent(s)

WITH SLP(C)NOS....................@ Diary No(s).6472/2018 (IV-B) (With appln. for c/delay in filing SLPs)   Date : 24-04-2019 These petitions were called on for hearing today.

CORAM :           HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UDAY UMESH LALIT          HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE INDU MALHOTRA

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Neeraj Kumar Jain,Sr.Adv. Mr. Aniket Jain,Adv. Mr. Siddharth Jain,Adv. Mr. Umang Shankar,AOR

Mr. Dinesh Verma,Adv. Mr. Rajat Sharma,Adv. Mr. Subhashish Bhowmick,Adv. for Mr. S.L. Aneja,AOR

                   For Respondent(s) Mr. S.C. Pathela,Adv.

for Mr. Yash Pal Dhingra,AOR                                UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following                              O R D E R

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Delay condoned in SLP(C)....D.No.6472/2018.

Leave granted.

The appeals are allowed with no costs in terms of the

signed non-reportable judgment.

       (Rajinder Kaur)     (Sarita Purohit)               Branch Officer               AR-cum-PS  

(Signed Non-reportable judgment is placed on the file)