Once proprietary rights were conferred under the Agrarian Reforms Act, the land ceased to be within the Act's purview, entitling the respondents to full compensation under the Land Acquisition Act.

JUDGMENT

Sanjay Dhar, J. - Through the medium of this common judgment, both these two appeals filed by the Collector Land Acquisition against two separate judgments, one dated 17.05.2008 and the other dated 12.09.2005 passed by learned District Judge, Udhampur, are proposed to be disposed of. Both these appeals give rise to same question of law as such, the same are being taken up together for their decision.

2. Vide CIMA No. 78/2006, Collector Land Acquisition, Udhampur has challenged the judgment dated 12.09.2005 passed by the learned District Judge, Udhampur in a reference under section 18/31 of Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, 1990 whereby the respondents have been held entitled to full amount of compensation for the land that has been acquired for the purpose of construction of by-pass road in village Barrian Tehsil and District Udhampur.

3. Vide CIMA No. 167/2009, Collector Land Acquisition, Udhampur has challenged the judgment dated 17.05.2008 passed by the learned District Judge, Udhampur whereby the respondents have been held entitled to full compensation in respect of land that has been acquired for construction of Govt. Middle School at village Sajalta.

4. The common question of law that arises for determination in both these appeals is as to whether the allottees of land under Govt. Order No. LB/7-C of 1958 dated 05.06.1998 on whom proprietary rights have been conferred under Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976 are entitled to full compensation in a case where their land has been acquired in terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, 1990.

5. The factual aspects arising in these two appeals are not in dispute. The predecessors-in-interest of the respondents in both these appeals were allotted the State land in terms of Govt. Order No. LB/7-C of 1958 dated 05.06.1958 and afterwards the allottees of the land were conferred the ownership rights of the allotted land in terms of Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976. The lands, which are the subject matter of these two appeals, were acquired by the Collector for the different public purposes as mentioned hereinbefore and two different awards came to be passed by the Collector.

6. After assessing the compensation in both the cases, the Collector has held the respondents entitled to one-third of the assessed compensation in respect of their acquired land on the ground that in terms of Circular No. REV (L-B) 10/80 dated 23.02.1980, the allottees are entitled only to one-third share of the total compensation. The respondents feeling aggrieved of the amount of compensation to which they have been held entitled by the Collector sought a reference to the learned District Judge, Udhampur and accordingly, the reference was made by the Collector to the learned District Judge in both the cases.

7. The learned District Judge, Udhampur vide the impugned judgments, after noticing several judgments passed by this Court, has taken a view that the respondents are entitled to full compensation because of the fact that proprietary rights in respect of the acquired lands had been conferred upon them.

8. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

9. Mr. S.S. Nanda, Sr. AAG appearing for the appellant-Collector has vehemently argued that the issue to be determined by the learned District Judge, Udhampur was as to whether the compensation assessed by the Collector was as per the prevailing market rate and the scope of reference was limited to this extent but the learned District Judge, Udhampur in both the cases has travelled beyond the scope of reference by dealing with an issue, which was not referred to the Court. He has further contended that the lands, which are the subject matter of the appeals, had admittedly been allotted in favour of the predecessors-in-interest of the respondents in terms of Govt. Order No. LB/7-C of 1958 dated 5th June, 1958 and such type of land falls within the category of land defined i