Punjab-Haryana High Court
Balwant Singh vs The Punjab State Through The Collector on 12 November, 2009
Author: Hemant Gupta
Bench: Hemant Gupta
RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [1]
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
RFA No. 2385 of 1990
Date of Decision: November 12, 2009
Balwant Singh ......... Appellant
versus
The Punjab State through the Collector
and another .......... Respondents
1.Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?
2. Whether to be referred to the Reporters or not ?
3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?
Present:- Shri M.S. Rakkar, Senior Advocate with
Shri A.G.S. Dhillon, Advocate for the appellant.
Ms. Ambica Luthra, Assistant Advocate General, Punjab.
HEMANT GUPTA, J.
This order shall dispose of present appeal as well as a bunch of following 59 other Appeals arising out of acquisition of land situated in seven villages, namely, Ram Nagar, Aujla, Jiwanwal, Nabipur, Barriar, Ghorala and village Gurdaspur, Tehsil and District Gurdaspur, for construction of bye-pass vide separate notifications under section 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short "the Act") dated 19.3.1981 RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [2] published on 15.05.1981 in respect of village Ram Nagar. Similar notifications were issued in respect of other aforementioned villages as well.
Sr. Appeal No. Parties Name No. 1 RFA No. 2380 of 1990 Sham Singh and others vs. The State of Punjab 2 RFA No.2386 of 1990 Kartar Singh (dead) through LRs vs. The Punjab State 3 RFA No.2387 of 1990 Gudev Singh and others vs. The Punjab State and another 4 RFA No. 85 of 1991 Harnam Singh and another vs. The State of Punjab 5 RFA No. 628 of 1991 Kartar Singh vs. The State of Punjab and another 6 RFA No. 83 of 1991 Ajit Singh and another vs. The State of Punjab and another 7 RFA No. 84 of 1991 Jaswant Singh and another vs. The State of Punjab and Anr. 8 RFA No. 2688 of 1990 Achhar vs. The State of Punjab 9 RFA No. 1719 of 1991 Chanan Singh and others vs. The State of Punjab and Anr. 10 RFA No. 2467 of 1990 Dalbir Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another 11 RFA No. 627 of 1991 Amolak Singh and another vs. The State of Punjab and Anr. 12 RFA No. 626 of 1991 Rachhpal Singh and another vs. The State of Punjab & Anr. 13 RFA No. 615 of 1991 Raghubir Singh and others vs. State of Punjab & others RFA No. 226 of 1991 Wadhawa Singh (deceased) and others vs. The State of Punjab 14 and another 15 RFA No. 227 of 1991 Hardial Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another 16 RFA No. 2466 of 1990 Roop Lal and others vs. State of Punjab and others 17 RFA No.2530 of 1990 Gurchain Singh vs. State of Punjab and another RFA No. 2382 of 1991 Inder Singh (dead) through LRs. and another vs. State of 18 Punjab and another 19 RFA No. 2474 of 1990 Kirpal Singh vs. The State of Punjab and another 20 RFA No. 1110 of 1991 Dalbir Singh and others vs. State of Punjab and another 21 RFA No. 150 of 1991 Balwant Singh vs. The State of Punjab 22 RFA No. 2473 of 1990 Piara Singh vs. The State of Punjab
RFA No. 2558 of 1990 Jagir Singh and others vs. The Land Acquisition Collector 23 and another 24 RFA No. 2529 of 1990 Harjinder Singh and others vs. The State of Punjab 25 RFA No. 2436 of 1990 Harbans Singh and another vs. State of Punjab and another 26 RFA No. 1620 of 1990 Tejwant Singh vs. State of Punjab and another 27 RFA No. 122 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr. vs. Harnam Singh and another 28 RFA No.123 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Ajit Singh and another 29 RFA No. 124of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Kartar Singh 30 RFA No. 125 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Chanan Singh and others 31 RFA No. 126 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Achhar 32 RFA No. 127 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Jaswant Singh and others 33 RFA No. 2554 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Kirpal Singh 34 RFA No. 2555 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Balwant Singh 35 RFA No. 2556 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Piara Singh and another 36 RFA No. 2626 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Dalbir Singh and others 37 RFA No. 2754 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Rachhpal Singh and another 38 RFA No. 2753 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Gurchain Singh RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [3] Sr. Appeal No. Parties Name No. 39 RFA No. 2752 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Hardial Singh and others RFA No. 2751 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Wadhawa Singh through his 40 LRs and others 41 RFA No. 2750 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Amolak Singh and another 42 RFA No. 2749 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Dalbir Singh and others 43 RFA No. 2468 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Harjinder Singh 44 RFA No. 2470 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Harbans Singh 45 RFA No. 2469 of 1990 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Jagir Singh and others 46 RFA No. 185 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Balwant Singh and another 47 RFA No. 184 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Sunder Singh 48 RFA No. 183 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Naranjan Singh and others 49 RFA No. 182 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Sham Singh and others 50 RFA No. 181 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Balwant Singh 51 RFA No. 180 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Gurdev Singh and others RFA No. 179 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Jagir Singh (dead) through his 52 LRs and others 53 RFA No. 178 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Santokh Singh and others 54 RFA No. 177 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Karam Singh 55 RFA No. 176 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Charan Singh 56 RFA No. 173 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Santokh Singh 57 RFA No. 174 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Balbir Singh 58 RFA No. 175 of 1991 The State of Punjab and Anr vs. Kartar Singh 59 RFA No. 1967 of 1990 The State of Punjab vs. Tejwant Singh The Land Acquisition Collector vide Award dated 10.07.1986 determined the market value of the acquired land in village Ram Nagar at Rs.34480/- per acre for Chahi, Rs.32480/- per acre for Chahi Nehri, Rs.32480/- per acre for Nehri , Rs.26,000/- per acre for Gair Mumkin all kinds and Rs.25,000/- for Barani land.
Dissatisfied with the amount of compensation, the land owners sought References to the learned District Judge for determination of the appropriate market value. Learned District Judge, on Reference, determined the market value of the acquired land as under:-
Award dated Amount awarded per acre Situated in village 24.07.1990 Rs.40,000/- Ram Nagar 24.07.1990 Rs.40,000/- Aujla 24.07.1990 Rs.45,000/- Jiwanwal 24.07.1990 Rs.45,000/- Nabipur RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [4] Award dated Amount awarded per acre Situated in village 24.07.1990 Rs.40,000/- Barriar 24.07.1990 Rs.80,000/- (Abadi land) Ghorala Rs.27,000/- (Chahi land) 24.07.1990 Rs.32,000/- Gurdaspur Dissatisfied with the amount of compensation awarded by the Reference Court, the State as well as land-owners are in appeal before this Court.
Mr. Rakkar, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the land owners whose land situated in village Ram Nagar was acquired, has vehemently argued that sale instance Exhibit A-6 dated 21.6.1979 in respect of land measuring 16 Marlas had not been taken into consideration by the learned Reference Court. As per the said sale instance, the price of one acre of land comes to Rs.4,20,000/-. Even if some cut is applied being sale of small area, the compensation awarded by the learned Reference Court is grossly inadequate. The learned counsel also relied upon Exhibit A-4, agreement to sell dated 6.8.1980 whereby land measuring 2 Kanals is agreed to be sold for Rs.32,000/- i.e., Rs.1,20,000/- per acre.
Mr. Rakkar, learned Senior Advocate for the appellant, relies upon Award dated 6.4.1990 rendered by the Reference Court determining the market value of the land situated in village Aujla at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre. It is contended that since the land situated in village Aujla was acquired by the same notification and for the same purpose, therefore, compensation determined in the aforesaid case is required to be determined in the present case as well. Reliance is placed on decision of the Supreme Court in case reported as Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation etc etc vs. Shardaben and others etc etc, AIR 1996 SC 3346; Atma RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [5] Singh (died) through L.Rs & others vs. State of Haryana and another, AIR 2008 SC 709 and a judgment of this Court in Regular First Appeal No. 3512 of 1992 titled Chand Khan and others vs. The State of Haryana, decided on 31.03.2008.
The learned Reference Court has relied upon Exhibit A-7, a sale instance of 11.06.1980, wherein 4 Kanals of land was sold for a total consideration of Rs.30,000/- at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre. Since the sale was of a small area, the Reference Court has applied 1/3rd cut to determine the market value at Rs.40,000/- per acre. The land which is subject matter of Exhibit A-6 is situated on GT Road going from Pathankot to Gurdaspur. The said sale is of small area and is situated on National Highway. The land acquired is situated at a distance ranging from 7 to 15 acres. Therefore, the land situated on a National Highway cannot be compared with the land situated at a distance in a remote area. Consquently, Exhibit A-6 is not of a comparable land and relevant evidence which can be formed the basis for determining the market value.
The reliance of learned counsel for the appellants on the agreement to sell dated 6.8.1980, Exhibit A-4, is again misplaced. The agreement to sell is a document which can be created subsequently and does not create any right in terms of Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. The agreement to sell itself does not create any right in any of the parties. Therefore, reliance on the agreement to sell by the learned counsel for the appellants is not tenable.
The Award dated 6.4.1990, Exhibit A-11, was relied upon before the learned Reference Court by the landowners which is now subject matter of RFA No. 2436 of 1990. The learned Reference Court found that RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [6] the same Presiding Officer in his earlier Award dated 13.03.1990, Exhibit A-10, determined the market value of Nehri land of the same village at the rate of Rs.45,000/- per acre but few days later on 6.4.1990 determined the market value of the land acquired in the same village vide same notification at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre. It was found that the said Awards have not become final. Therefore, the market value of the acquired land was determined at Rs.40,000/- per acre.
Award Exhibit A-10 was subject matter of challenge before this Court in RFA No. 1447 of 1990 which has since been dismissed. The Award, Exhibit A-11, is subject matter of challenge by the State in RFA No. 1967 of 1990, which is being taken up for hearing in these bunch of cases. In Award Exhibit A-11, the learned Reference Court though discussed the sale instances produced by the parties but proceeded to determine the amount of market value on the basis of oral testimony of the landowners that the land in village has been sold for Rs.80,000/- per acre or that Rs.8000/- per Marla within the limits of Gurdaspur town. As per landowners, since the land is situated near the municipal limit of Gurdaspur, compensation at the rate of Rs.4000/- per Marla is required to be determined. Thereafter the Reference Court proceeded to determine the compensation at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre. The relevant discussion reads as under:-
" 13. In the petition, the petitioners stated that prior to the acquisition, land in this village had been sold for Rs.80,000/- per acre although subsequently he elaborated that certain land had also been sold for Rs.8000/- per marla within the limits of Gurdaspur Town and that his land being near the municipal limits of Gurdaspur, he was entitled to get Rs.4000/- per marla as compensation. Within the municipal limits, the prices of land RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [7] are certainly high because the Municipal Committee and the Improvement Trust provide civil amenities to the residents. If one purchases land for commercial and residential purposes outside the municipal limits, he has to make his own arrangement for such amenities. Thus considering the rival contentions, in my opinion, compensation at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre for the acquired land would meet the ends of justice. I order accordingly......"
The said approach of the learned Reference Court, to say the least, is not tenable in law. There is no evidence that the sale instances relied upon by the landowners are in any way comparable to the land acquired. In the absence of a finding regarding proximity of the land, subject matter of sale instances, with the land acquired, the said sale instances have rightly been not taken into consideration. The Award does not disclose any basis of determining the market value at Rs.60,000/- per acre. Therefore, the Award of the Reference Court dated 6.4.1990, and subject matter of RFA No.1967 of 1990, cannot be said to be legal and valid. Determination of Rs.60,000/- as market value is on the basis of conjectures and surmises. The learned Reference Court has not referred to the earlier Award in respect of the same village announced few days earlier by the same Presiding Officer and numerous other Awards determining compensation of Rs.40,000/- per acre.
In respect of acquisition of land in village Aujla, learned Reference Court has determined market value at the rate of Rs.45,000/- per acre vide Award dated 13.03.1990. Such Award has been affirmed by this Court in RFA No. 1447 of 1990 and other connected appeals on November 04, 2008. Since compensation in respect of village Aujla arising out of same notification and for the same purpose has been determined at the rate of RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [8] Rs.45,000/- per acre, therefore, for the sake of parity, the land owners whose land was acquired along with the land situated in village Aujla are entitled to same compensation i.e., at the rate of Rs.45,000/- per acre.
Vide notification dated 19.03.1981, the land situated in seven villages was intended to be acquired for providing bye-pass. Since the land acquired is contiguous and pertains to almost similar kind of land, therefore, compensation arrived at in respect of village Aujla can safely be determined as compensation for the land acquired in all other villages. In view of the said fact, the appeals filed by the landowners in respect of villages Ram Nagar, Aujla, Barriar, Gurdaspur and Ghorala are allowed and compensation determined at the rate of Rs.45,000/- per acre except in respect of Abadi land measuring 2 Marlas only in village Ghorala for which compensation has been awarded by the Reference Court at Rs.80,000/- per acre. Apart from Abadi land, compensation in respect of agricultural land situated in all villages, subject matter of acquisition in the present appeals for the purpose of bye-pass, is determined at Rs.45,000/- per acre.
In view of the above, the determination of market value of the land acquired in village Aujla at the rate of Rs.60,000/- per acre, subject matter of RFA No. 1967 of 1990, is reduced and compensation is determined as in other cases i.e. Rs.45,000/- per acre.
As a result of the above discussion, RFA No. 1967 of 1990 filed by the State of Punjab in respect of land situated in village Aujla is allowed, whereas all other appeals filed by the State of Punjab are dismissed. The appeals filed by the land owners are allowed except acquisition pertaining to Abadi land of village Ghorala. The landowners are entitled to compensation at the rate of Rs.45,000/- per acre. The landowners RFA No. 2385 of 1990 [9] are entitled to statutory benefits in terms of the provisions of the amended Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
November 12, 2009 ( HEMANT GUPTA ) ks JUDGE