Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

10. However, in case of the five sale deeds sought to be brought on record as additional evidence by the appellant, the market value was set forth and approved by the Collector. Such market value was higher than the consideration price shown and, as such, has to be taken as the correct indicator of the actual market price.

11. Learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant cites Land Acquisition Officer, Eluru and Others v. Jasti Rohini (Smt) and another, reported at (1995) 1 SCC 717 as well as Land Acquisition Officer & Mandal Revenue Officer v. V. Narasaiah, reported at (2001) 3 SCC 530, in support of the proposition that market value, in case of land acquisition, can be taken on the price of a single land in the vicinity provided that the sale deed was executed between a willing seller and a "not too anxious" buyer. Unless the sale is a bona fide one, the consideration thereof cannot be taken to be the premise of assessment of market value.

38. Rule 3(1) of the Rules also strengthened such position, which contemplates market value to be the highest price for which sale of any land has been effected during the five immediately preceding consecutive years from the date of execution setting forth such market value, or on the basis of any court decision or information, report or record that may be available from any court or Government authority or on the basis of consideration, "whichever is greater".

39. Going by such principle, in the present case, the exemplar deed (Exhibit-1) did not carry any separate set forth market value. The Estimate Note of the registering authority indicates that the consideration price itself was taken to be the market value and stamp duty assessed accordingly.

40. Thus, in terms of the provisions as discussed above, there cannot be any doubt that the consideration price of the said exemplar deed executed by Suryanarayan, the father of one of the claimants, and which was accepted as the foundation for assessment of market value in all the cases, was higher than the market value, which proposition is proved by the very fact that the sale price itself was accepted, as opposed to the market rates assessed by Government authorities.

47. Thus, the basis of assessment of market value in respect of the exemplar deed was the sale price chosen by the parties to the deed and not the correct rates prevalent at the relevant point of time.

48. On the contrary, in case of the deeds produced by the appellant, the very fact that the set forth market value, which was much higher than the sale price, was accepted and approved by the registering authority, shows that an exercise was undertaken under Section 47A of the Stamp Act and upon a comparison between the sale price shown therein and the actual market value, the prevalent market rates, as reflected in the set forth market value in the deeds, was accepted.