Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and anr ....Appellant(s) Vs Umrao and others ...Respondent(s)

The present order shall dispose of three appeals i.e. RFA Nos. 7039, 7040 and 7047 of 2015, as common questions of facts and law are

involved in all the appeals. Reference is being made to RFA No. 7039 of 2015, Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation

and another vs. Umrao and others.

The present appeals have been filed by the HSIDC challenging the order dated 24.03.2015 whereby, the Additional District Judge, Rewari,

while deciding the reference of the land owner under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short ''the Act''), enhanced the

compensation @ Rs.22 lacs per acre for all types of land alongwith the statutory benefits. The notification was issued under Section 4 of the Act

on 31.10.2008 of land measuring 641 kanals 15 marlas for the Revenue Estate of village Patuhera, Tehsil Bawal, District Rewari for the extension

of the Industrial Growth Centre, Bawal.

The enhancement was on the basis of an award dated 17.01.2015 in L.A. Case No. 161 of 2011 titled Babu Lal and others vs. State of

Haryana and others. Counsel has pointed out that in RFA No. 3522 of 2015 filed by Babu Lal and others vs. State of Haryana, a Coordinate

Bench has remanded the matters to the Reference Court on 25.10.2017 on the ground that the sale deeds of the land in the revenue estates were

not taken into consideration for determining the market value.

The said view was thereafter followed in another set of appeals filed by the Corporation in RFA No. 7037 of 2015 on 27.11.2017 HSIDC and

another vs. Ram Phal and others. In the said appeal also, several land owners were not appearing despite service, which is also the situation herein

also while others have died during the pendency of the proceedings. The order dated 27.11.2017 reads thus:-

Vide this order and judgment, I shall decide a batch of 37 appeals, of which 33 appeals have been filed by the HSIIDC and the rest 4 appeals are

preferred by the claimant-landowners. However, by consensus, the facts are being culled from RFA No. 7037 of 2015 (Haryana State Industrial

Infrastructure Development Corporation, Chandigarh and another Vs. Ram Phal and others).

Vide notification, dated 31.10.2008, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, a land situated in six different villages, i.e.

Deodhai, Baghthala, Patuhera, Banipur, Karnawas and Asalwas, Tehsil Bawal, District Rewari, was sought to be acquired for extension of

Industrial Growth Centre, Bawal. The final declaration under Section 6 was published on 08.07.2009. The Land Acquisition Collector, vide six

separate awards, for each of the villages, assessed the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre. And, vide impugned awards,

the Reference Court had enhanced the compensation to Rs. 22,00,000/- per acre. Concededly, all what forms basis of assessment by the

Reference Court is its previous award dated 17.1.2015, passed in LA No. 161 of 2001 (Babulal and others Vs. State of Haryana and others),

vide which, a similar land was assessed at the same rate. However, it is contended by the learned counsel for the parties that since the award

rendered by the Reference Court in the case of Babu Lal (supra) was set aside by this Court, vide order and judgment dated 25.10.2017,

rendered in RFA No. 3522 of 2015 (Babu Lal and others Vs. State of Haryana and others) and the matter has since been remitted, the very basis

of the impugned awards is non-existent. Thus, as a necessary consequence, the awards rendered by the Reference Court even in these

proceedings shall have to be set aside. And the matter at hands too is required to be remitted for a decision afresh.

In fact, in few of these appeals, service of the claimant-landowners was not complete, which is why these appeals were listed for 13.2.2018. But

as most of the unserved respondents were represented by their counsel in the cross appeals, which were disposed of on 25.10.2017, appellants

moved an application for preponing the hearing in these appeals. Accordingly, vide order dated 21.11.2017, the appeals were preponed to

22.11.2017. And, now when the respondents are represented by their respective counsel, except in RFA Nos. 7037, 7044 to 7046, 7051, 7053

& 7054 of 2015 in which none has chosen to appear despite service, service in all these appeals is complete. Thus, in the wake of the above, the

appeals are disposed of in terms of the decision of this Court, dated 25.10.2017 in the case of Babu Lal and others (supra). Accordingly, parties

are directed to appear before the District Judge, Rewari, on 12.12.2017. Needless to assert, that even these land references shall be assigned to

the same Court which is seized of the connected matters remitted earlier.

Accordingly, the present appeals are also allowed in the same terms and the matters are remanded to the District Judge, Rewari.