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283. 3.1 Learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant – BSNL has further submitted that in the facts and circumstances of the case, no reliance could have been placed on the Ready Reckoner as PW3 – a Government Officer specifically admitted that the actual rates of transaction of sales in market are different from the rates mentioned in the Ready Reckoner and that the correct market price is not reflected from the Ready Reckoner. It is submitted that PW3 further specifically admitted that the Ready Reckoner was prepared only for collecting stamp duty. It is submitted that therefore, the High Court has seriously erred in enhancing the amount of compensation solely relying upon the Ready Reckoner prices of the area in question.

4. Shri Sachin Patil, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State has adopted the submissions made by the learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant – BSNL and submitted that the High Court has committed a serious error in awarding such an exorbitant compensation.

5. Present appeal is vehemently opposed by Mrs. Kiran Suri, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of original claimants. Mrs. Suri, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the original claimants has vehemently submitted that in the present case while enhancing the compensation amount to Rs. 174/- per sq. ft., the High Court has rightly relied upon the Government Resolution and the Ready Reckoner. It is contended that the value of the land mentioned in the Ready Reckoner is a statutory cost and even the Government has issued a Resolution that while determining the amount of compensation, the price/value mentioned in the Ready Reckoner is required to be taken into consideration.

5.1 It is submitted that in the present case, the original claimants have relied upon the Government Resolution dated 31.10.1994 as well as the Ready Reckoner rates by examining the Assistant Town Planner as PW-4.

5.2 It is submitted that the Government Resolution dated 31.10.1994 makes it obligatory that on the date of the notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, wherever, necessary, the capitalization method and/or the valuation as per the Ready Reckoner, whichever is higher, should be done at the time of market selection. It is submitted that the aforesaid Government Resolution provided the basis for the calculation of the market value for Ready Reckoner. It is submitted that Ready Reckoner is prepared after taking into consideration the geographical conditions of each area, major roads, railways, etc., as well as by inspecting the information of buying and selling transactions. 5.3 It is submitted that the Ready Reckoner is used for registering documents. The sale transactions cannot be for a lesser amount than the market price. It is submitted that however, the value of the land in the documents may be higher than the value proposed by the Ready Reckoner. It is submitted that a policy decision by the Government that the value/price mentioned in the Ready Reckoner can be considered for the purpose of determining the compensation for the lands acquired under the Land Acquisition Act is beyond the judicial review, more particularly, when the same is not under challenge. 5.4 It is submitted that the prices mentioned in the Ready Reckoner are after following the procedure as required under the Maharashtra Stamp (Determination of True Market Value of property) Rules, 1995. Relying upon the decision of this Court in the case of Lal Chand Vs. Union of India and Anr., (2009) 15 SCC 769 (para 41), it is submitted that as observed and held by this Court, the procedure adopted by the Expert Committee constituted under the Stamp Act, law is a scientific and methodical assessment of market value, and, therefore, there is no reason why such rates should not be a relevant piece of evidence for determination of the market value.

As such, we are in complete agreement with the view taken in the aforesaid two decisions that the prices mentioned in the Ready Reckoner for the purpose of calculation of the stamp duty, which are fixed for the entire area, cannot be the basis for determination of the compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. It is required to be noted that in the present case, the Reference Court did consider the submission on behalf of the claimants to determine the market value on the basis of the Ready Reckoner. The Reference Court specifically refused to accept the same on appreciation of the deposition of PW-3. PW-3, a Government Officer specifically admitted that the Ready Reckoner was prepared for recovery of the proper stamp duty and the registration charges and that the actual rates of transaction of sales in market are different than the rates mentioned in the Ready Reckoner and that correct market prices cannot be reflected from the Ready Reckoner. Even PW-4 also specifically admitted in his deposition that the Ready Reckoner is prepared only for collecting stamp duty. The Refence court, therefore, rightly relied upon and followed the decisions of this Court in the case of Jawajee Nagnatham (supra) and Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti, Sahaswan (supra).