Back
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
A.Y. KOGJE, J.L. ODEDRA, JJ.
Executive Engineer/General Manager - Appellant
Versus
Sagrambhai Ghudabhai Suthar & Anr. – Respondents
R/First Appeal No. 2441 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2442 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2443 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2444 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2445 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2446 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2447 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2448 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2449 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2450 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2451 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2452 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2453 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2454 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2455 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2456 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2457 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2458 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2459 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2460 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2461 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2462 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2463 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2464 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2465 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2466 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2467 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2468 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2469 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2470 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2471 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2472 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2473 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2474 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2475 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2476 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2477 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2478 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2479 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2480 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2481 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2482 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2483 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2484 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2485 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2486 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2487 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2488 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2489 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2490 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2491 Of 2017 With R/First Appeal No. 2492 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 81 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2441 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 82 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2443 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 83 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2446 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 84 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2447 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 85 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2448 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 86 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2450 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 87 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2451 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 88 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2452 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 89 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2453 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 90 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2454 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 91 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2461 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 92 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2460 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 93 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2459 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 94 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2458 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 95 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2457 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 96 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2456 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 97 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2474 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 98 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2473 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 99 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2471 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 101 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2470 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 102 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2467 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 103 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2466 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 104 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2465 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 105 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2464 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 106 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2463 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 107 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2484 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 108 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2482 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 109 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2479 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 110 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2480 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 111 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2478 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 112 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2490 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 113 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2492 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 114 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2488 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 115 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2487 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 116 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2486 Of 2017 With R/Cross Objection No. 117 Of 2017 In R/First Appeal No. 2485 Of 2017
Decided On : 25-09-2025
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. overview of land acquisition process (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. introduction of appeals and cross objections (Para 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. compensation awarded by reference court (Para 9) |
| 4. appellant's arguments on compensation valuation (Para 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 5. court's examination of valuation methodology (Para 13 , 14 , 15) |
| 6. court's assessment of proper compensation (Para 16) |
| 7. final valuation set by the court (Para 17 , 18) |
| 8. conclusion and final directives (Para 19 , 20 , 21) |
JUDGMENT :
A.Y. KOGJE, J.
1. This is a group of First Appeal is preferred by the Indian Railways being the acquiring body which has acquired various parcels of lands under the Land Acquisition Act and the proceedings initiated at the behest of appellant by respondent No.2-State of Gujarat.
2. The parcels of lands acquired fall within village Kansa, Taluka and District Patan for the public purpose of construction of Patan-Bhildi new broad gauge railway line.
3. The notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was issued on 03.03.2009 in Gazette and on 24.03.2009/21.03.2009 published in two daily newspapers at a conspicuous place in the village and final notification came to be published on 18.04.2009. Section 6 notification published on 29.09.2009, the hearing under Section 9 was scheduled on 16.04.2010, the award under Section 11 was declared by the Land Acquisition Officer on 04.11.2011.
4. Against the claim of the land holders for Rs.1,000/- per Sq.Mtr, the Land Acquisition Officer assessed the value of the land only at the rate of Rs.12/ - per Sq.Mtr of the land and Rs.13/- per Sq.Mtr for the land having access to the village pathway (Neliya).
5. Aggrieved by the award of the Land Acquisition Officer, the claimants filed the reference within the prescribed time contending inter alia that the assessed valuation of land is much on the lower side and considering various parameters like crop yield due to irrigation facility and other amenities available to the village claimed value of the land at Rs.1,000/- per Sq.Mtr against which the reference Court awarded the compensation at the rate of Rs.216/- per Sq.Mtr.
6. Aggrieved by the compensation thus awarded by the Reference Court, the railways have preferred the present appeal under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act which came to be admitted by this Court vide order dated 21.07.2017 on the same day in a order below the Civil Application for stay, this Court directed stay of the impugned order on condition of deposit of entire awarded amount and permitted 50% withdrawal by the claimant and 50% to be deposited in Fixed Deposit of Nationalized Bank.
7. The claimants were also aggrieved by the award and hence filed Cross Objections on various grounds preliminary though on the ground of report of the District Valuation Committee. This Court vide order dated 23.11.2017 admitted the Cross Objections and ordered it to be heard with main appeals.
8. Considering the commanality of the issues involved and contentions raised in all other appeals, the same are taken up for joint final hearing and facts are narrated from the lead appeal being First Appeal No.2441 of 2017 with Cross Objection No.81 of 2017.
9. The Principal Senior Civil Judge, Patan was pleased to partly allowed the Reference being L.A.R. No.80 of 2012 to 130 of 2012 and L.A.R. No.72 of 2012 (main Reference) and awarded (1) amount of Rs.216/- per sq. mtr. as additional amount of compensation to all the claimants of L.A.R. No.80 of 2012 to 130 of 2012 and L.A.R. No.72 of 2012 and (2) also awarded additional amount of solatium @ 30% on the market value of the acquired land as provided u/s.23(2) of the Act for the compulsory acquisition of land and (3) also awarded 12% p.a. on the market value of the acquired land for the period commencing from the date of publication of Notification u/s.4(1) of the Act to the date of the award passed by the Collector or the date of the taking of possession of the land, whichever is earlier as provided in sec
AI
Compensation for land acquisition must reflect accurate market value, considering relevant statutory provisions and context rather than relying solely on outdated evaluations.
The court upheld the Reference Court's valuation of agricultural land compensation, emphasizing reliance on expert opinions and valid market evidence in determining fair compensation under the Land A....
Market value in land acquisition cases must reflect current assessments by expert committees rather than outdated valuations, ensuring fair compensation aligns with statutory requirements.
Compensation for acquired land must be based on reliable valuation evidence, with deductions reflecting the nature of the land and consistent with judicial precedents.
Valuations by Expert Committees are essential in determining adequate compensation for land acquisition, reflecting market realities rather than outdated assessments.
The court upheld an enhanced land compensation rate reflecting market value, confirming reliance on established valuation methodologies and legal precedents in land acquisition cases.
Compensation for land acquisition must be based on current market value, informed by recent sale transactions and relevant valuation reports.
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
