LexVIRENDER SINGH AND ORS. versus UNION OF INDIA
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A VI RENDER SINGH AND ORS. v. UNION OF INDIA APRIL 22, 2003 B [K.G. BALA KRISHNAN AND P. VENKATARAMA REDD!, JJ.] Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Section 4(/)-Acquisition of land in the year 1959 for planned C develop111ent of the City-Land situated quite far from the 111ain road- Collector awarding Rs.6,000 per Bigha in 1967-Reference Court enhancing it to Rs.10,000-High Court confir111ing award-Reliance placed on sale deed executed by claimant and also Award of Civil Court in previous Reference case-Justification of-Held: Sale deeds relied on do not fi1rnish D real indicia of 111arket value of land since they were effected just before the Award was passed in the year 1967-Award of Civil Court substantially varied by judg111ent of High Court in respect of land acquired under Notification of 1962 enhancing market value fro111 Rs.12,000 to Rs.32,000 per Bigha-Hence relying on the judgment of High Court, giving allowance to the rising prices between 1959 to 1962 and also location of the land, E market value of the land fixed at Rs.20,000 per Bigha. Valuation-Conflicting judg111ent of various High Courts-Effect of In year 1959 land of the appellant-claimants was acquired. The said land was situated much behind the main road. It was acquired for the purpose of F planned denlopment of Delhi. Thereafter in 1967 Collector passed an award fixing the market \'alue of the land at Rs.6,000 per Bigha. Reference Court enhanced the market \'alue and fixed the same at Rs.10,000 per Bigha. High Court confirmed the award of the Reference Court. It relied on the sale deeds executed by the claimants themselves to the persons who figured as G respondents before the Reference Court and also relied upon the award of the Reference Court in land acquisition case pertaining to the land acquired under a notification of 1962 in the same \'illage in which High Court fixed the market value as of 1952 at Rs.10000 per Bigha. Aggrieved by the quantum of enhancement, the claimants preferred the present appeal. H 864 VIRENDERSJNGH v. U.0.1. 865 Appellants relied on a judgment of High Court which enhanced the market A value of the land acquired under a Notification of 1962 from Rs.12,000 to Rs.32,000 per Bigha, and contended that even after giving allowance for appreciation of value between 1959 and 1962 the compensation should be reasonably fixed at Rs.25,000 per Bigha. Respondent-Union of India contended that the High Court judgment has B no more weight than the judgment under appeal, especially when there is no material on record to establish that the acquired land covered by the High Court judgment is comparable in all respects to the land in the instant case. Partly allowing the appeal, the Court c HELD: I.I. High Court relied on the award of the Civil Court in a previous reference case and the sale deeds executed by the claimants. Sale price as per the sale deeds was Rs. 7 ,500 per Bigha. The appellants did not tender any evidence to refute the sale value mentioned therein or to explain the circumstances in which such low price was charged. Also these sale deeds D were neither relied upon by the claimants nor by the Government. They were evidently brought on record by the vendees who were respondents before the Civil Court. Those sale transactions do not furnish real indicia of the market value of the land for the simple reason that the sales were effected at an advanced stage of land acquisition proceedings. Such sales rushed through, for whatever reason it be, just before the award came to be passed-cannot be taken to reflect E the true value of the land. If these sale deeds were excluded from consideration, what is left is only the award of the Civil Court in a previous reference case which has been substantially varied by the High Court judgment. 1868-H; 869-A-C, El 1.2. Taking the subsequent judgment of High Court as the basis and F giving due allowance to the rising prices between 1959 and 1962 and keeping in view the location of the land which is quite far from the main road, the market value of the land acquired could be reasonably fixed at Rs. 20,000 per Bigha.1869-Fl Shri Prabhu Dayal v. Union of India, 1199514 SCC 221, distinguished. G 2. The claimants are entitled to interest on solatium. Further the interest under Section 4(3) of the Land Acquisition (Amendment & Validation) Act, 1967 which the Collector himself awarded at 6% has to be allowed on the market value of
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