*THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI AND *THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VAKITI RAMAKRISHNA REDDY + LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL SUIT. No. 1051 of 2007 Between:

The Land Acquisition officer &

Revenue Divisional Officer Peddapalli … Appellant AND M Anjaiah and others … Respondents JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED ON : 26.09.2025 SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL:

1. Whether Reporters of Local : Yes/No newspapers may be allowed to see the Judgment ?

2. Whether the copies of judgment may : Yes/No be marked to Law Reports/Journals

3. Whether Their Lordship/Ladyship : Yes/No wish to see the fair copy of judgment _____________________________ ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI, J _______________________________ VAKITI RAMAKRISHNA REDDY, J THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VAKITI RAMAKRISHNA REDDY LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL SUIT. No. 1051 of 2007 % 26.09.2025 Between :

# The Land Acquisition officer &

Revenue Divisional Officer Peddapalli … Appellant AND $ M Anjaiah and others …Respondents ! Counsel for the Appellant : Government Pleader for Appeals ^ Counsel for Respondent Nos.1 & 2 : Sri MD Ajmal Ahmed :

^ Counsel for Respondent Nos.9 to 14 : Sri M. Pranav < GIST :

> HEAD NOTE : ? Cases referred :

1. AIR 1979 SC 472

2. AIR 1997 SC 2025 3. AIR 1974 SC 2333 4. (2015) 2 SCC 262

5. 2023 SCC OnLine SC 147

6. (1995) 1 SCC 717 7. (2012) 7 SCC 595 8. (1991) 4 SCC 506 THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE VAKITI RAMAKRISHNA REDDY LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL SUIT. No. 1051 of 2007 JUDGMENT: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy This Land Acquisition Appeal, filed under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), is directed against the judgment and award dated 22.03.2005 passed in O.P. No. 74 of 1996 on the file of the Senior Civil Judge, Peddapalli (hereinafter referred to as the “Reference Court”).

2. By the impugned judgment, the Reference Court enhanced the compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer (for short, “LAO”) in respect of the acquired lands, thereby giving rise to the present appeal at the instance of the Land Acquisition Officer & Revenue Divisional Officer, Peddapalli.

I. BRIEF FACTS:

3. The lands situated in Survey Nos. 586, 587, and 588, admeasuring: Ac. 13-11 guntas, Ac. 14-21 guntas, and Ac. 4-31 guntas, respectively aggregating to a total extent of Ac. 32-23 guntas, situated at Jangaon Village, Ramagundam Mandal, Karimnagar District, were acquired for the public purpose of providing house sites.

II. NOTIFICATION AND AWARD:

4. A notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued on 15.03.1996, proposing acquisition of the subject lands for the public purpose of providing house sites to the weaker sections of the society.

5. Subsequently, the Land Acquisition Officer passed an award dated 29.03.1996, fixing the market value of the acquired lands at Rs. 18,500/- per acre. Not being satisfied with the said compensation, the claimants sought a reference under Section 18 of the Act, which came to be numbered as O.P. No. 74 of 1996 before the Reference Court.

III. ISSUES FRAMED BY THE REFERENCE COURT:

6. The Reference Court, upon the pleadings, framed the following issues for determination:

(i). Whether the Award passed by the Land Acquisition Officer is not reasonable and adequate?

(ii). Whether the claimants are entitled to get enhanced compensation, and if so, at what rate?

(iii). To what relief?

IV. EVIDENCE ON RECORD:

7. To substantiate their claim for higher compensation, the claimants examined PWs 1 to 3 and got marked Exhibits A-1 to A-24, which comprised exemplar sale deeds and certified copies of earlier awards pertaining to adjacent lands.

8. On behalf of the respondent-State, RW.1 was examined and Exhibit B-1 was marked.

V. FINDINGS OF THE REFERENCE COURT:

9. The Reference Court, upon appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, found that the claimants had duly proved the genuineness of the sale deeds, namely Exs. A-12