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2019 Supreme(SC) 879
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, R. SUBHASH REDDY, JJ.
State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors. – Appellants
Versus
Kanshi Ram & Ors. – Respondents
Civil Appeal No.6308 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29319 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6309 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29320 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6310 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29327 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6311 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29330 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No. 6312 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29332 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6313 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29333 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6314 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29335 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6315 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29336 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6316 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29337 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6317 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29338 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6326 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29350 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6318 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29339 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6319 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29340 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6320 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29341 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6321 of 2019(Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29342 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6322 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29344 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6323 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29346 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6324 of 2019(Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29347 of 2018) With Civil Appeal No.6325 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.29349 of 2018) With Civil Appeal NoS.6327-6328 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) Nos.10089-10090 of 2019) With Civil Appeal No.6331 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.19584 of 2019 @ D.No.22780 of 2019) With Civil Appeal No.6332 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.19587 of @ D.No.22837 of 2019) 2019 With Civil Appeal No.6330 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.18323 of 2019) With Civil Appeal No.6329 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.18322 of 2019) With Civil Appeal No.6333 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.19588 of 2019 @ D.No.22850 of 2019) AND CIVIL APPEAL NO.6334 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(C) No.19591 of 2019 @ D.No.22851 of 2019)
Decided on : 14-08-2019
For the Petitioner(s):Abhinav Mukerji, Bihu Sharma, Siddharth Garg, Purnima Krishna, B. S. Banthia, Advocates
For the Respondent(s):B. S. Banthia, Abhinav Mukerji, Bihu Sharma, Siddharth Garg, Purnima Krishna, Advocate
IMPORTANT POINT
Acquisition of land – Quantum of compensation must be based upon comparable sales.
Headnote:
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 – Sections 4 and 18 – Acquisition of land – Quantum of compensation – Claim for grant of additional interest of 15% per annum on compensation awarded – Land Acquisition Officer after collecting necessary material, has passed a common Award on the basis of classification of land – Land Acquisition Officer has categorized land into 5 categories of land and fixed Rs.61,666.00 for Andrali Aval, Rs.51,666.00 for Andrali Doem, Rs. 41,666.00 for Baharli Aval, Rs. 20,000.00 for Baharli Doem and Rs.5,000.00 for Khariyater & Banjer – Reference Court has fixed compensation by awarding uniform rate at Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha – If no other comparable sales are available in same village it is always open to Reference Court to consider sales in adjoining villages during relevant period – Even otherwise there are other methods for fixing compensation – Such erroneous fixation of market value at the rate of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha as fixed by Reference Court, ought not to have been approved by High Court – Appeals filed by State deserve to be allowed by remitting cases to Reference Court for fresh adjudication – Award of Reference Court fixing compensation for acquired land at the rate of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha, set aside and matters remitted back for fresh consideration by District Court for considering the references in accordance with law and to pass fresh Award. (Paras 12 to 15)
Facts of the Case:
Acquisition of land. There are two sets of appeals in this batch of civil appeals. One set of civil appeals is filed by State and the other set of civil appeals is filed by respondents-claimants of land, for grant of additional interest of 15% per annum on compensation awarded to them.
Findings of Court:
Award of Reference Court fixing the compensation for the acquired land at the rate of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha, also stands set aside and matters are remitted back for fresh consideration by the District Court for considering the references in accordance with law and to pass fresh Award.
Result : Appeals Partly allowed.
JUDGMENT :
R.Subhash Reddy, J.
1. Delay condoned.
2. Leave granted.
3. All these Civil Appeals are filed, aggrieved by the judgment dated 31.07.2017 passed by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla in R.F.A.No.202 of 2011 and batch, as such they are heard together and are disposed of by this common judgment.
4. There are two sets of appeals in this batch of civil appeals. One set of civil appeals is filed by the State and the other set of civil appeals is filed by the respondents-claimants of the land, for grant of additional interest of 15% per annum on the compensation awarded to them. For the purpose of disposal we treat the Civil Appeal arising out of S.L.P.(Civil) No.29319 of 2018 as the lead matter.
5. The Gram Panchayat, Namhol made a request to the appellants for construction of the road from Namhol to Bahadurpur. In view of the request made by the Gram Panchayat, the appellants have constructed the road from the village Tepra, Sub Tehsil Namhol, District Bilaspur. It is stated that for the above said purpose of construction of road, possession of the land was taken in the year 1988.
6. When the possession of the land was taken for construction of the road, some of the owners of the land whose land was utilized for construction of road approached the High Court and filed writ petition in C.W.P.No.735 of 2004 complaining that their land was utilized for public purpose, without acquisition of land in accordance with law. Pursuant to directions issued by the High Court in the aforesaid writ petition, the appellants have initiated land acquisition proceedings, to acquire 18-15 bighas of land situated at Tepra village. Notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, ‘the Act’) was published in the Official Gazette on 30.7.2005. After completing the necessary formalities the Land Acquisition Officer has passed a common Award dated 08.05.2007 by assessing the market value of the acquired land on the basis of classification of land as under:-
Classification of land
Rate per Bigha
1. Andrali Aval
Rs.61,666.00
2. Andrali Doem
Rs.51,666.00
3. Baharli Aval
Rs.41,666.00
4. Baharli Doem
Rs.20,000.00
5. Khariyater & Banjer
Rs.5,000.00
7. Not satisfied with the market rate fixed by the Land Acquisition Officer, respondents-claimants have sought reference under Section 18 of the Act and their claims were referred to the District Court. The Reference Court on the basis of the material placed before it, enhanced the compensation by fixing uniform rate of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha, for all categories of land, irrespective of classification, along with other consequential benefits as per the provisions of the Act.
8. Aggrieved by the judgment of the Reference Court fixing compensation of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha, the appellants have preferred R.F.A.No.202 of 2011 and batch questioning the fixing of the market value of the acquired land by uniform rate of Rs.7.00 lakhs per bigha. In the appeals preferred by the State, the respondents have preferred cross objections claiming interest from the date of taking possession to the date of publication of Section 4(1) Notification. By the impugned judgment the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla by a common judgment dismissed the appeals filed by the State and allowed the cross objections by awarding interest @ 15% per annum on the market value of the land fixed by the Reference Court, from 1.1.1989 till the date of Notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Act i.e. 30.7.2005. Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, appellants have filed these appeals. The respondents-claimants also preferred appeals claiming interest by way of damages @ 15% per annum on the total compensation payable to the respondents, not merely on the market value as awarded by the High Court.
9. We have heard Sri Abh
