Shantabai and Others vs The Special Land Acquisition Officer and Others

K.N. Phaneendra, J.—The appellant has approached this Court calling in question the award dated 26.06.2014 passed by the III-Additional District Judge, Gulbarga in LAC No. 78/2009 and requesting this Court to modify the award by enhancing the compensation at Rs. 2,10,000/- per acre to the irrigated land, from Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre, as awarded by the First Appellate Court with all statutory benefits, interest and cost.

Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted before this Court that, this Court in MFA No. 30169/2008 vide order dated 05.04.2014 has enhanced the compensation in respect of wet land to Rs. 1,72,630/- per acre. Therefore, the same order requires to be passed so far as this appeal is concerned.

It is seen from the records that the land bearing Survey No. 171/C measuring 1 acre 13 guntas standing in the name of the appellant situated at Gadilingadhalli Village was acquired by the Government for construction of small and minor irrigation projects at Gulbarga. The acquisition proceedings were initiated by issuing Notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act in the official gazette dated 18.03.1993. The Special Land Acquisition Officer has fixed the compensation vide order dated 31.08.2001 at Rs. 15,000/- per acre for irrigated (wet) lands, Rs. 800/- per acre to P.K. land and Rs. 10,000/- per acre for dry land from the date of notification under Section 4(1) of the L.A. Act till the date of award i.e., from 18.03.1993 to 03.05.1996. Aggrieved by the said award, the claimant filed a protest petition and thereafter, on receiving the reference from the Special Land Acquisition Officer, compensation was enhanced to Rs. 49,500/- per acre in respect of wet land. Being aggrieved by the said order, the claimant has preferred an appeal before the III Additional District Judge at Gulbarga in LAC (Appeal) No. 78/2009 and after re-evaluation of the materials on record, the Court has enhanced the said compensation to Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre in respect of the said wet land of the claimant. Not being satisfied with the said order, the present MSA is preferred before this Court for enhancement of compensation.

In MSA No. 30169/2008, the notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, pertaining Survey No. 12/1/1 of same village namely, Gadilingadahalli was dated 27.12.1992. Only three months difference is there so far as the notification pertaining to this case is concerned, i.e. to say, the notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act so far as the present case is concerned, was on 18.03.1993. Therefore, within a span of three months, the said notification has been issued and no much difference can be found with regard to determination of the potentiality of the land and evaluation of the market value. Therefore, this Court has already evaluated the potentiality of the land and enhanced the compensation to Rs. 1,72,630/- per acre so far as the wet land is concerned. The said judgment of this Court appears to have reached the finality. Therefore, I do not find any strong reasons to differ from the observations made in the said case. Hence, in this case also the appellant is entitled for fixation of the market value of the land in question, at Rs. 1,72,630/- per acre.

For the aforesaid reasons, the appeal is allowed in part. The judgment and award dated 26.06.2014 passed by the III Additional District Judge at Gulbarga in LAC No. 78/2009 is hereby modified. The compensation awarded under the said judgment and award in respect of the land of the appellant acquired in Survey No. 171/C of Gadilingadahalli, at Rs. 1,00,000/- per acre, is enhanced to Rs. 1,72,630/- per acre. The appellant is also entitled for all the statutory benefits, interest and cost, which she is entitled to under law.