Judgment :-

H.L. Dattu, J.

1) This batch of appeals is directed against the separate orders passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Regular First Appeals filed by land owners for enhancement of compensation awarded by the Reference Court for the lands acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, [hereinafter referred to as `the Act'] in the villages of Harthalaand Mukkarrabpur. There are in all 30 appeals before us, out of which, 23 are in relation to the village of Harthalaand 7 in relation to the villageof Mukkarrabpur.

2) In view of the orders we propose to pass in all these appeals, we deem it unnecessary to state the facts giving rise to the present appeals in greater details and a brief reference thereto would suffice to appreciate the controversy.

3) Lands in Villageof Harthala:-There are twenty three appeals relating to this village. Under Section 4 read with Section 17 of the Act, Notification dated 20.09.1990 was issued and published by the State Government for the acquisition of the lands of the appellants. Subsequently, a declaration dated 10.06.1991 was published in the Gazette, under Section 6 of the Act. The lands acquired were taken physical possession by the State Government. In accordance with Section 11 of the Act, the Land Acquisition Officer [hereinafter referred to as `the LAO'] assessed the market value of the acquired lands at `80 per sq. meter vide order dated 18.09.1993 as compensation. Dissatisfied with the award of the LAO, the land owners filed objections, inter-aliaclaiming that the market value of the acquired lands is `1000 per sq. meter, due to the proximity of the lands to the city of Moradabad. After scrutinizing the evidence on record, the Reference Court had come to the conclusion that the market value of the nearby land was `550 per sq. meter, however, taking into consideration the location and potentiality of the lands and also proximity of the lands from the city of Moradabadand other relevant factors, enhanced the compensation awarded to `270 per sq. meter. The State preferred appeals against the enhancement so made by the Reference Court and the High Court has allowed the same in the light of the judgment of the Court in First Appeal No. 247 of 1997 dated 05.03.2004.

4) Lands in village of Mukkarabbpur:-Seven of the present appeals relate to the villageof Mukkarabbpur. A Notification for acquisition of the lands under the Act was issued and published on 20.08.1992. In pursuance of the Notification, the State took possession of the said lands on 06.05.1997 by paying 80% of the estimated compensation at the rate of 150 per sq. meter. However, vide order dated 29.08.1997, the LAO fixed the compensation at the rate of `92.59 per sq. meter. Aggrieved by the same, the appellants moved the Reference Court and produced evidence in support of their claim that the prevailing rates of land in that village and its roundabouts were much higher. After giving due consideration to the claim made and the evidence on record, the Reference Court enhanced the compensation to `350 per sq. meter. The respondents preferred appeals to the High Court, and the same came to be allowed, reviving the award passed by the LAO.

5) Shri. M.L. Varma, learned senior counsel, appears for the appellants, and Shri. M.P. Shorawala, learned counsel, holds the brief for the respondents.

6) At the outset, it is relevant to note that the question of adequacy of compensation for the lands acquired in these two villages under the same notification has been gone into by this Court in the case of Gafarand Ors. v. MoradabadDevelopment Authority, (2007) 7 SCC 614. In that case, this Court made a detailed enquiry into the method of valuation adopted by the LAO and the enhancement of compensation by the Reference Court. This Court took the view that the evidence relied upon by the Reference Court while enhancing the compensation werenot reliable, and, therefore, the High Court was justified in setting aside the order passed by the Re