JUDGMENT :

M.R. Shah, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned common judgment and order dated 04.03.2022 passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in R.F.A. No. 2016/2021 and other allied First Appeals, by which the High Court has allowed the said First Appeals preferred by the respondents herein – State of Haryana and others and has quashed and set aside the judgment and order dated 31.05.2014 passed by the Reference Court and has restored the awards declared by the Land Acquisition Collector determining the amount of compensation with respect to the lands acquired at village Hansi and Dhana, District Hisar, Haryana, the original landowners have preferred the present appeals.

2. The facts leading to the present appeals in a nutshell are as under:

That the land situated at village Hansi and Dhana, District Hisar, Haryana admeasuring 229.13 acres and 20.77 acres respectively came to be acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act 1894’) for development of the residential and commercial sectors – Sectors 3, 5 & 6 at Hansi. A common notification under Section 4 of the Act 1894 was issued on 29.08.2005. That declaration under Section 6 of the Act 1894 was issued on 29.08.2006. The land Acquisition Collector declared the award under Section 11 of the Act 1894 on 3.8.2007, vide award Nos. 1 & 2 for both villages, Hansi & Dhana, by adopting the belting method/system and assessed the market value of the land abutting the G.T. Road (Delhi-Hisar Road) at Rs. 12,00,000/- per acre up to the depth of 2 acres and for the land abutting the Jind By-pass Road, at Rs. 10,00,000/- per acre up to the depth of 2 acres and for the remaining land, the market value was assessed at Rs. 8,00,000/- per acre.

2.1 That at the instance of the landowners, the references were made to the Reference Court. By common judgment and order dated 31.05.2014, the Reference Court allowed the respective reference petitions filed by the landowners and assessed the market value at Rs.1,000/- per square yard (Rs. 48,20,000/- per acre).

2.2 Having not satisfied with the amount of compensation determined by the Reference Court, the landowners preferred first appeals before the High Court for enhancement of compensation. At this stage, it is required to be noted that so far as the State is concerned, the State accepted the common judgment and order dated 31.05.2014 passed by the Reference Court determining the amount of compensation/market value of the acquired land at Rs. 1,000/- per square yard. That the High Court, by common judgment and order dated 28.05.2016 passed in RFA No. 7324/2014 and other allied first appeals, allowed the said first appeals preferred by the landowners and assessed the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 4,173/- per square yard, relying upon the decision of this Court in the case of Ashrafi and Others v. State of Haryana and Others, (2013) 5 SCC 527.

2.3 Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the common judgment and order passed by the High Court dated 28.05.2016 passed in RFA No. 7324/2014 and other allied first appeals, the original landowners as well as the State preferred appeals before this Court. By judgment and order dated 16.05.2018, this Court allowed the appeals preferred by the State and set aside the judgment and order dated 28.05.2016 passed by the High Court and remitted the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration. While setting aside the judgment and order dated 28.05.2016 passed by the High Court, this Court observed that the High Court committed an error in determining compensation at Rs. 4,173/- per square yard, considering the decision of this Court in the case of Ashrafi (supra). This Court observed that as the land in the case of Ashrafi (supra) was acquired in the year 1995 and was a very small piece of land and it was for a commercial purpose and in the present case the land has been acquired in the year 2005 and thus there is