1. Land acquisition compensation dispute — determination of rates for multiple villages — challenge to High Court order. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 )
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2021 Supreme(SC) 1012
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
UDAY UMESH LALIT, S. RAVINDRA BHAT, JJ.
Chitrabai & Anr. Etc. Appellants
Versus
Deputy Chief Engineer (Constructions), South Central Railways-III, Secunderabad & Another - Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos.6957-6958 of 2021(Arising out of SLP (Civil) Nos.19179-19180 of 2021
Arising out of Diary No.26546 of 2018)
Decided on : 18-11-2021
Important Points
The Court applied the principle of parity in land acquisition compensation, ruling that lands in village Taj Sultanpur should be awarded the same compensation rate (Rs.129.95 per sq. ft.) as lands in village Jafrabad, as they were treated at the same level in previous determinations.
Subject
Land Acquisition - Compensation
Headnote
Land Acquisition Act,1894 – Compensation – Delay condoned – Application for substitution preferred to bring legal representative of deceased appellant is allowed – Abatement, if any, is set-aside – Cause title be amended accordingly – Held, Submission is vehemently opposed, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for Railways – Considering entirety of matter and extent of land under acquisition, in our view, ends of justice would be met if compensation in respect of lands from Taj is put at same level as was awarded in respect of lands of village – Appellants shall, therefore, be entitled to compensation at the level of per sq. ft. for their lands from village – Appeals allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Appellants seek parity in compensation rates for lands treated at the same level; respondent opposes the extension of increased rates. (Para 8 , 9 )
3. The court observed that lands treated at the same level during initial determination should maintain parity in revised compensation to meet the ends of justice. (Para 10 )
4. Parity in compensation rates is warranted for lands treated at the same level to ensure the ends of justice are met. (Para 10 )
5. Appeals allowed — compensation for lands in the specific village increased to match the rate awarded for a similarly treated village. (Para 11 , 12 )
6. Under what circumstances may the court grant parity in compensation for land acquisition?
The court may grant parity in compensation when the lands in question were treated at the same level during the initial determination and such an adjustment is necessary to meet the ends of justice. (Para 8 , 10 )
ORDER :
1. Application for substitution preferred to bring legal representative of the deceased appellant is allowed. Abatement, if any, is set-aside. Cause title be amended accordingly.
2. Delay condoned.
3. Leave granted.
4. These appeals challenge the judgment and order dated 25.01.2017 passed by the High Court of Karnataka, Bench at Kalaburagi in MFA CR-OB Nos.1580/2013 and 1583/2013.
5. The matters arising from the same acquisition had come up before this Court in Civil Appeal No.7642 of 2019, (titled “Mahadev (D) by LRs Kalawati & Others v. Deputy Chief Engineer (Constructions), South Central Railways III & Another”) and other connected matters, which were disposed of by this Court vide its judgment and order dated 26.09.2019. The lands from villages Shaikh Roza, Jafrabad and Taj Sultanpur were subject matter of consideration before this Court. The Land Acquisition Officer had determined the compensation in respect of three villages as under:
(a) Lands situate in Shaikh Roza at the rate of Rs.1,25,500/- per acre.
(b) Lands situate in Jafrabad at the rate of Rs.71,500/- per acre.
(c) While Lands situate in Taj Sulthanpur at the rate of Rs.63,500/- per acre.
6. The Reference Applications preferred by the land holders had resulted in award of compensation by the Reference Court in respect of lands situated in village Shaikh Roza @ Rs.187.5 per sq. ft. while compensation so determined with respect to the village Jafrabad was @ Rs.142/- per sq. ft.
7. In the appeals before this Court, the lands coming from Shaikh Roza and Jafrabad were in issue. The final determination by this Court was as under:
“ … We, therefore, allow these appeals and direct as under:
(a) In respect of lands coming from village Shaikh Roza, the appellants shall be entitled to compensation @ Rs.150 per sq. ft. as was awarded to other lands from the same village.
(b) In respect of lands coming from village Jafrabad, the appellants shall be entitled to compensation @ Rs.129.95 per sq. ft. as was awarded to other lands from the same village.
Since none of the appeals, presently before us, pertains to any lands coming from Tajsultanpur, we refrain from dealing with the issue in question, as regards the rate to be awarded to lands from Tajsultanpur.”
8. The record indicates that the lands coming from villages Jafrabad and Taj Sultanpur were treated at same level and the compensation was so awarded. Since the compensation in respect of lands coming from village Jafrabad was raised by this Court to the level of Rs.129.95 per sq. ft., Ms. Kiran Suri, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the appellants submits that the compensation in respect of lands from village Taj Sultanpur be also put at the same level.
9. The submission is vehemently opposed by Mr. Vikramjit Banerjee, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Railways.
10. Considering the entirety of the matter and the extent of land under acquisition, in our view, the ends of justice would be met if the compensation in respect of lands from Taj Sultanpur is put at the same level as was awarded in respect of lands of the village Jafrabad. Ordered accordingly.
11. The appellants shall, therefore, be entitled to compensation at the level of Rs.129.95 per sq. ft. for their lands from village Taj Sultanpur.
12. With these observations, the instant appeals are allowed, without any order as to costs.
