1. Land acquisition — Dispute over compensation for acquired lands — Appeals against High Court's determination of compensation. (Para 1 )
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2022 Supreme(SC) 857
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
M.R. Shah, B.V. Nagarathna, JJ.
Jagjit Singh and Others Etc. Etc. - Appellants
Versus
State of Punjab and Another Etc. Etc. - Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. 5337-5434 of 2022 (Arising out of SLP(Civil) Nos.10810-10907 of 2019)
Decided On : 26-08-2022
Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant(s) : Mr. Vinay Garg, Sr. Adv. Mr. Naresh Kaushal, Adv. Mr. Dinesh Verma, Adv. Mr. Subhasish Bhowmick, AOR Dr. Ajay Kumar, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR
For the Appellant(s) : Mr. Vinay Garg, Sr. Adv. Mr. Naresh Kaushal, Adv. Mr. Dinesh Verma, Adv. Mr. Subhasish Bhowmick, AOR Dr. Ajay Kumar, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR
The Court's decision was influenced by its earlier judgments in similar cases and the principle of denying interest due to substantial delay in filing the appeals.
Headnote:
Compensation - Land Acquisition - Section 4 Notification - Kapoor Singh v. The State of Punjab & Another - Surjit Singh v. State of Punjab & Another
Fact of the Case:
The landowners appealed the decision of the High Court to determine the compensation for acquired lands at Rs. 7,80,000/- per acre. The High Court relied on its earlier decisions in Kapoor Singh v. The State of Punjab & Another and Surjit Singh v. State of Punjab & Another to determine the compensation.
Finding of the Court:
The Supreme Court allowed the appeals and enhanced the amount of compensation to Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre and Rs. 2,00,000/- per acre, based on the earlier decisions in Kapoor Singh and Surjit Singh. The Court denied interest on the enhanced amount of compensation due to substantial delay in filing the appeals.
Issues: Determining the amount of compensation for acquired lands based on the High Court's reliance on earlier decisions.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court enhanced the compensation based on its earlier decisions in similar cases and denied interest due to substantial delay in filing the appeals.
Final Decision: The appeals were partly allowed, and the compensation was enhanced to Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre and Rs. 2,00,000/- per acre, with the denial of interest on the enhanced amount. The original landowners were entitled to solatium as prescribed under the statute on the enhanced amount of compensation from the date of the High Court's orders.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Landowners seek enhancement of compensation based on parity with similarly situated landowners in related cases. (Para 1 , 4 )
3. Landowners are similarly situated to those in precedent cases; however, substantial delay in filing appeals justifies denying interest on the enhanced amount. (Para 4 )
4. Similarly situated landowners are entitled to parity in compensation enhancement, though interest may be denied for substantial delays in preferring appeals. (Para 4 )
5. Compensation enhanced with solatium, but interest denied for the period of delay in filing appeals. (Para 5 )
6. Are landowners entitled to the same compensation enhancement as others in similar circumstances?
Yes, where landowners are similarly situated and the High Court relied on the same precedent cases, they are entitled to the same enhancement granted by the Supreme Court in those precedents. (Para 4 )
7. Can the court deny interest on enhanced compensation due to delays in filing appeals?
Yes, the court may deny interest on the enhanced amount of compensation from the date of the High Court's judgment until the appeals are preferred if there is a substantial delay in filing. (Para 4 )
8. Is solatium applicable to the enhanced amount of compensation?
Yes, landowners are entitled to solatium as prescribed under the statute on the enhanced amount of compensation from the date of the orders passed by the High Court. (Para 5 )
JUDGMENT :
M.R. SHAH, J.
1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned common judgment(s) and order(s) dated 28.01.2010/18.05.2010/07.03.2012 passed in the respective first appeals, dated 12.08.2013 in RFA No. 2948/2007 and dated 2.8.2013 passed in RFA No. 4975/2010, the particulars of which are as under,
| Sl. No. | Particulars | RFA No. | Date of Order | Section 4 Notification date |
| 01. | Jagjit Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 1612/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 02. | Bhag Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1616/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 03. | Naranjan Singh (D) through Joginder Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1618/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 04. | Amarjit Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2319/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 05. | Gian Singh v. State of Punjab & Others | 2632/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 06. | Kuldip Singh v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 2669/2000 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 07. | Kharaiti Ram v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 277/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 08. | Mehar Singh v. State of Punjab | 280/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 09. | Kamaljit Kaur v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 317/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 10. | Amrik Singh v. State of Punjab | 328/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 11. | Desa Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1307/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 12. | Thakur Dass v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1309/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 13. | Daljit Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 1310/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 14. | Mohinder Singh v. State of Punjab | 1312/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 15. | Jagir Singh v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 1313/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 16. | Dalbag Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab | 1316/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 17. | Amarjit Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1377/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 18. | Mehar Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 1379/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 19. | Gurnam Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1452/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 20. | Mohinder Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1719/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 21. | Gian Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1983/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 22. | Surinder Pal Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 1984/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 23. | Dharam Singh v. State of Punjab | 2133/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 24. | Bachan Singh (D) through Lr. Jaswinder Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2137/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 25. | Pargat Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 2150/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 26. | Paramjit Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2154/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 27. | Sohan Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2159/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 28. | Lakbir Singh v. State of Punjab | 2182/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 29. | Purni v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2183/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 30. | Hukam Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab | 2221/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 31. | Achhra Singh v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 2224/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 32. | Jarnail Kaur & Anr. V. State of Punjab | 2225/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 33. | Kaka Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2226/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 34. | Rajinder Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2280/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 35. | Smt. Palo v. State of Punjab | 2315/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 36. | Gurjit Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2957/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 37. | Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 2958/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 38. | Dayal Singh v. State of Punjab & Anr. | 3352/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 39. | Sher Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors. | 3412/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 40. | Shamsher Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab | 3555/2001 | 28.01.2010 | 12.11.1992 |
| 41. | Ku | |||
