JUDGMENT :

1. This appeal by the appellants is directed against the judgment/award dated 27th August, 2014 passed by the learned District Judge, Jammu [“the Reference Court”] in file No.18/LA Act titled Paras Ram and others v. Collector Land Acquisition (ACR, Jammu) and another, whereby the market rate of the acquired land in village Satwari has been enhanced from Rs.1,45,000/-per kanal to Rs.2,07,500/- per kanal.

2. The impugned award is assailed by the appellant primarily on the ground that that the Reference Court has not appreciated the factors to be taken into account in terms of Section 23 of the Jammu & Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, Svt. 1990 [“the Act”] for working out the true market value of the acquired land at the time of issuance of notification under Section 6 of the Act. It is submitted that in the absence of any rebuttal to the oral as well as documentary evidence produced by the appellants, the Reference Court should have given due weightage to the evidence of the appellants in respect of market value of the land. It is stated that the Reference Court ignored the ample evidence brought on record, oral as well as documentary, to demonstrate that the market value of th