Land Acquisition: Compensation – Award of – Assessment of market value of the lands by the High Court – Deduction of one third amount towards development charges – Correctness of: Held : High Court considered the relevant factors prescribed under the Act – It duly considered all the sale instances in the light of the evidence on record and relied upon sale instances executed in close proximity to the date on which the lands in question were acquired – Assessment of market value so determined after imposing cut of one third towards development charges was rightly done, thus, does not warrant any interference. [Paras 10 and 15] Land Acquisition : Compensation – Award of – Deduction towards development charges – Determination of:
Held : Courts should keep in mind the nature of land, area under acquisition, the development of land and its extent of development, the purpose of acquisition etc – While determining the market value of large chunk of land, the value of smaller pieces of land could be taken into consideration, however, after making appropriate deduction in the value of lands or setting apart land required for carving out roads, leaving open spaces, plotting out smaller plots etc – Percentage of deduction or the extent of area required to be set apart has to be assessed by the courts having regard to the size, shape, situation, user etc. of the lands acquired – It is essentially a kind of guess work the courts are expected to undertake. [Para 11] Land Acquisition – Market value of the land – Determination of – Guiding principles:
Held : For ascertaining the market value of the land, its existing condition, location and user, its proximity to residential, commercial or industrial area etc. are the factors to be considered – Size and nature of the lands acquired and size and nature of the lands in respect of which sale instances are produced, are also an important aspects – Sale instances of small piece of land cannot form reasonable basis to determine the market value of large chunk of land, unless suitable deductions are made in respect of development charges – Deductions to be made would depend on the nature of land, its topography, special features and state of its development so as to make it suitable for the purpose for which it is acquired. [Para 8] Constitution of India: Art. 136 – Extra-ordinary jurisdiction under – Exercise of:
Held : Under Art. 136, plenary jurisdiction exercisable on assuming appellate jurisdiction has been conferred upon the Supreme Court – However, it is an extraordinary jurisdiction which must be exercised in exceptional circumstances with great care and caution. [Para 7] LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation vs. Pran Sukh and Others (2010) 11 SCC 175; Chimanlal Hargovinddas v. Special Land Acquisition Officer, Poona and Anr. (1988) 3 SCC 751 : [1988] 1 Suppl. SCR 531; Lal Chand v. Union of India and Anr. (2009)
15 SCC 769 : [2009] 13 SCR 622; Kasturi and Ors. v. State of Haryana (2003) 1 SCC 354 : [2002] 4 Suppl. SCR 117; ig. Sahib Singh Kalha and Ors vs. Amritsar Improvement Trust and Others AIR (1982) SC
940 – referred to.
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As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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