Jagir Singh and others vs The State of Punjab

Sukhdev Singh Kang, J.—Letters Patent Appeal Nos. 70, 109, 322, 323, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 334, 344, 345 and 352 of 1981 are proposed to be disposed of together by a common judgment because they arise out of the same judgment and contain common questions of law and fact.

Briefly stated the facts are that the Punjab Government acquired 107 acres, 7 kanals and 12 marlas of land situated in village Killianwali A notification u/s 4 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter called ''the Act'') was published on March 14, 1977. It was closely followed by a notification u/s 6 of the Act on March 15, 1977. The Land Acquisition Collector divided the acquired land into two belts representing the varying degrees of its potential value, the propinquity of the land to the main Dabwali-Malout Road being the crucial factor kept in view of this regard. The special belt of the land which actually abutted on the main road was valued at Rs. 15,000/- per acre. The price of the remaining land was fixed at Rs. 5200/- per acre. The appellants landowners did not accept the award and made written applications in this regard to the Land Acquisition Officer u/s 18 of the Act, requiring him to refer their cases to the Civil Court for determination of compensation. The State opposed the claim petitions and urged that the compensation was rightly assessed and really represented the market value of the acquired land in accordance with the principles contained in Section 23 of the Act. The claimants apart from making their own statements, examined Tej Ram Patwari, AW5. They also produced copies of Award dated 23.2.1978 (Exhibit P/1), field map, Exhibit P/2, consolidation Scheme, Exhibits P/3 and P/4, Jamabandi, Exhibit P/5, Award, Exhibit P/6, Khatauni, Exhibit P/7, Sale-deeds, Exhibits P/8, to P/13, Jamabandi Exhibits P/14 to P/15, Award, Exhibit P/16, Sale-deeds, Exhibit P/17, mutations, Exhibits P/18 to P/21, Nehri Girdawari, Exhibit P/23 and field map, Exhibit P/22 and P/24.

In rebuttal, the respondent produced Harnand Singh, Patwari Colonization, and tendered in evidence mutations Exhibits R/2 to R.6. The learned Additional District Judge held that the evidence on record proved that the location of land is very suitable and it has a great potential for the construction of residential as well as commercial buildings. Taking this potential into account, the learned Additional District Judge raised the compensation for the land other than the one comprised in the special belt to Rs. 7800/-peracre However, he did not enhance the compensation for the land comprised in the special belt. Dissatisfied the land owners-claimants filed appeals in this Court.

The learned Single Judge held that the decision in R.F.A. No 473 of 1980, which related to the acquisition of the land for constructing a bye pass road at Dabwali, in which case notification u/s 4 of the Act was published on April 3, 1974, and which land is contiguous to the land, indispute, furnishes the best possible evidence for the purposes of determination of the market price thereof. He relied upon sale deeds-(i) Exhibit P/9, whereby five marlas of land were sold at the rate of Rs. 1,60,000/- per acre on December 20, 1976; (ii) Exhibit P/12, relating to the sale of 11 marlas of land on December 17, 1976, at the rate of Rs. 36 420/- per acre; and (iii) Exhibit P/13, pertaining to the sale of 10 marlas of land at the rate of Rs. 40,000/- per acre on December 20, 1976 The lands covered by these transactions were abutting on the Dabwali bye pass The instances established that the land lying along this byepass had acquired great potential for being used as a commercial sites. Therefore, he carved out a belt along this byepass upto a depth of 66 feet and awarded compensation at Rs. 78000/ per acre, which is the average of the above mentioned three instances. He fixed the compensation for the rest of the land at the rate of Rs. 18,000/- per acre.

Some of the claimants and the State have filed these Letters Patent Appeals against the judgment of the learned Single Judge.

Tej Ram, Patwari, admitted that Guru Nanak College and residential quarters for its staff are located in Khasra Nos. 1018 and 1021. There is scattered abadi nearby which consists of shops and houses There is a power station, a service station and a petrol pump near this land Mandi Dabwali is on the eastern southern side A byepass which comprises of a metalled road passes along this land Shri Harnand Singh, Patwari, Colonization, who was examined by the State has also given evidence on the same lines and admitted that the land comprised in Khasra Nos. 1028 and 1029 was reserved during consolidation for extension of abadi, which adjoins the acquired land. There are shops and residential houses built in a portion of the land. Beyond that is the office of the Electricity Department. The boundary lines of Dabwali and Kilianwali adjoins each other. He also admitted that a cotton factory is also situated in the area of village Kilianwali and so is the railway station of Dabwali.

It is in evidence from the statements of the two Patwaris that the acquired land is very suitable for construction of residential and commercial buildings. It abuts on the byepass Dabwali-Killianwali link road passes right through it The Railway Station, Dabwali, is situated within the area of village Kilianwali Cotton factory has also been set up in this village Guru Nanak College and its residential quarters are nearby and shops have been constructed around it. A service station, a petrol pump et cetra have also been set up. Mandi Dabwali lies on the eastern southren side Khasra Nos. 1018 to 1029 adjoining this land had been reserved for abadi during the consolidation operations. All the land abutting on the byepass had a potential for being used for building shops. The lands under these three instances mentioned above had been purchased for constructing shops. In these circumstances, it connot be said that instances of sales of small pieces of land cannot be taken into account for determining the market value of the special belt of the acquired land.

The instances produced by the State have been rightly rejected by the learned Additional District Judge Their correct location had not been established No evidence had been led to show that these lands were similar to the land in question and had the same potential for development as the acquried land.

The learned Single Judge has taken into account all the facts and circumstances and determined compensation for the land comprised in the special belt in the light of the principles laid down in section 23 of the Act. We feel that the compensation awarded by him is just and fair.

No doubt the lands abutting on the byepass can be used for commercial purposes but the lands lying at their back can be used for the purposes of building houses The learned Additional District Judge has rightly observed that whole of the acquired land has a very good location and has a potential for building houses and commercial premises. Even a road leading from Kilianwali to Dabwali passed through this land. Compensation at the rate of Rs. 18,000/- per acre for the remaining land is indeed inadequate. As has been often said ore cannot determine compensation for the acquired land with a mathematical precision. Some amount of guess work is inherent in the process of computation of the market value of the acquired land Taking all these facts and circumstances of the case into account, we feel that the value of the rest of the land should be placed at least at one third the value of the lands of the special belt. This comes to Rs. 26.000/- per acre.

We therefore, partly allow this appeal and fix the compensation for the lands, in dispute, other than the land comprised in the special belt at the rate of Rs. 26,000/- per acre. This shall, however, be subject to the claim made by the claimants in the appeals and the court-fees paid thereon. The appeals filed by the State have no merit and are dismissed, with costs.