JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri J.P.S. Chauhan, learned counsel for the claimants-appellants and Sri Girish Vishwakarma, learned standing counsel for the State-respondents in this batch of first appeals.

2. Briefly stated facts of the present case are that by notification dated 09.06.1989 under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), land of three villages, namely Manoharwala measuring 4.243 acres, Sikandarpur Basi measuring 2.806 acres and Begampur measuring 2.366 acres, total 9.415 acres were acquired. All these aforesaid three villages fall in Pargana Akbarabad, Tehsil Najibabad, District Bijnor. The aforesaid land was acquired for construction of Begampur Miner. Notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued on 06.06.1990. Possession was transferred on 18/19.09.1990. Award was made by the S.L.A.O. on 31.07.1991 offering compensation @ Rs.19,998.55 per acre for Sawai Doyam quality soil and Rs.27,337.58 per acre for Matiyar Doyam quality soil of village Manoharwala. Dissatisfied with the offer made, the claimants-appellants filed a reference under Section 18 of the Act being L.A.R. No.105 of 1993, which has been dismissed by the impugned judgment dated 27.02.2003 passed by the Additional District Judge, Court No.3, Bijnor. Similar judgments have been passed in other connected first appeals. Aggrieved with the judgments of the reference court, the claimants-appellants have filed the present first appeals.

3. It is also relevant to mention that the First Appeal Nos.575 of 2003, 577 of 2003 and 590 of 2003, relate to the acquired land of village Manoharwala while the First Appeal No.588 of 2003, relates to the acquired land of village Begampur. The S.L.A.O. determined compensation of land of village Begampur at Rs.9,684.84 per acre for Matiyar Doyam quality soil, Rs.7,676.32 per acre for Sawai Doyam quality soil and Rs.21,994.33 per acre for Sawai Awwal quality soil.

4. Learned counsel for the claimants-appellants submits that by sale deed exemplar dated 24.09.1988 filed in evidence disclosed that 2 biswas land for Rs.5000/-of village Manoharwa was sold by the claimant-appellant Sukkhey (First Appeal No.590 of 2003) to one Smt. Kranti Devi. The selling rate comes to Rs.60,000/-per acre. Following this sale deed exemplar, reference court in another reference No.272 of 1992 (Sumer and others vs. State of U.P.) determined the compensation @ Rs.60,000/-per acre for construction of Begampur miner. The First Appeal No.508 of 1997 filed by the State of U.P. against the aforesaid judgment dated 23.01.1996 in L.A.R. No.272 of 1992 was dismissed as a consequence of rejection of delay condonation application. He, therefore, submits that the claimants-appellants are also entitled to the same rate of compensation .

5. Learned standing counsel supports the impugned judgment.

6. I have carefully considered the submissions of learned counsels for the parties and perused the record.

7. The only evidence in the form of sale deed exemplar filed by the claimants-appellants was a sale deed dated 31.05.1988 registered on 24.09.1988 whereby only two biswas land was sold by the claimant-appellant Sukkhey to one Smt. Kranti Devi for Rs.5000/-. The sale deed exemplar does not even disclose boundaries of the land sold. In his cross-examination, P.W.-1 admitted that the land was sold for abadi. He also admitted that Kranti Devi was in need of that land and, therefore, whatever consideration was demanded, the same was paid by Kranti Devi. The P.W.-2 also made the same version in his cross-examination. The facts as afore-noted goes to show that the consideration shown in the aforesaid sale deed, does not reflect normal market price of similar land. Before the reference court in Reference No.272 of 1992 decided on 23.01.1996 either this evidence was not available or it was completely ignored. That apart, even though th