Supreme Court of India
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS.versusADDITIONAL SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
- Citation
- 2009 INSC 892
- Decided
- 8 July 2009
- Disposal
- Appeal(s) allowed
- Bench
- TARUN CHATTERJEE
Holding
The High Court erred in denying enhanced compensation on the technical ground of unpaid court fee; the appellants are entitled to compensation at Rs.32.10 per sq ft, subject to payment of the deficit court fee.
Summary
The appellants, landowners whose property was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, challenged the High Court's restriction of their compensation to Rs.23 per square foot despite its finding that the market value was at least Rs.32.10 per square foot. The High Court had limited the award on the ground that the appellants had not paid the full court fee in their cross‑objections. The Supreme Court held that once enhanced compensation is recognized, it cannot be denied on a mere technical default of court‑fee payment; the appellants must be given a chance to pay the deficit. The Court also clarified that the market value must be established by proper evidence, and the appellants failed to adduce such evidence, leading the Court to fix the value at Rs.32.10 per square foot. The Court affirmed the rest of the High Court’s order, granting the appellants 30% solatium, interest, and additional market value, subject to payment of the outstanding court fee within four months. The appeals were allowed.
Issues considered
- The High Court's restriction of enhanced compensation on the ground of unpaid court fee without allowing the appellants to pay the deficit.
- Whether the market value of acquired land can be determined based on prior judgments and what evidentiary standards apply.
- The effect of Bhag Singh (1985) vis‑à‑vis Buta Singh (1995) and Scheduled Caste Coop. (1991) on the entitlement to enhanced compensation.
- Whether the appellants are entitled to enhanced compensation subject to payment of the requisite court fee.
Legislation cited
- Code of Civil Procedures. 151
- Land Acquisition Act, 1894s. 23, s. 23(1), s. 4(1), s. 6(1)
Subjects
Land acquisitionCompensationEnhanced compensationCourt feeMarket valueSolatiumInterestLand Acquisition ActTechnical defect
Judgment
[2009] 10 S.C.R. 505
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. A
v.
ADDITIONAL SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
(Civil Appeal Nos.4163-4165 of 2009)
JULY 8, 2009
B
[TARUN CHATTERJEE AND V.S. SIRPURKAR, JJ.]
LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 1894:
s.23 - Acquisition of land·- Compensation - Deduction c
of, for deficit in court fee - High Court holding the claimants
entitled to enhanced compensation but reducing the same for
deficit in court fee - Held: Once the court has taken the view
that claimants were entitled to enhanced compensation, they
should not be denied the same on mere technical ground of 0
non-payment of court fee, and an opportunity must be given
to them for payment of requisite court fee.
s. 23(1) - Market value of acquired land - Determination
of on the basis of a judgment - Held: The claimant must
adduce evidence for determining market value of the acquired E
land according to the decision relied upon - In the instant
case, claimants tailed to furnish such basis.
In the instant appeals filed by the landowners, the
question for consideration before the Court was: whether F
the High Court having held that the landowners were
entitled to compensation @ Rs.32.10/- per sq. ft., was
justified in restricting the amount to Rs.23/- per sq. ft. only
in view of the deficit in the court fee paid by the land
owners in their cross-objections, without affording them G
• the opportunity to pay the balance court fee.
Allowing the appeals, the Court
505 H
506 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A HELD: 1.1. Once the court has taken the view that the
claimants were entitled to enhanced compensation, they
should not be denied the same on mere technical ground
of non-payment of the court fees, and an opportunity
must be given for payment of the same. [Para 6] [513-C-
B DJ
Bhag Singh vs. Union Territory of Chandigarh (1985) 3
sec 737, retied on.
1.2. In the instant case, the High Court has
C recognized the high value of the lands of the appellants
and held that the actual market value of the acquired land
would have been Rs.32.10/- per sq. ft. The High Court also
took into consideration the awards passed by the civil
court and observed that the entitlement of the appellants
D in the instant case would be far more than the rate of Rs.
32.10/- per sq. ft. However, the High Court erred in
restricting the claim to Rs.23/- per sq. ft. on mere
· technical ground of non-payment of requisite court fee.
[Para 7] [513-0-G]
E
1.3. The decision of the Constitution Bench in Buta
Singh* has not reversed the decision in Bhag Singh and
the law laid down in Scheduled Caste Coop.** is
materially different from the law established by this court
F in Bhag Singh since both the decisions dealt with
different matters and moreover the Scheduled Caste
Coop. decision has in fact recognised the validity of the
law laid down in Bhag Singh. Therefore, following the
judgment of Bhag Singh, the decision in the instant case
shall not be in conflict with the opinion of the Constitution
G Bench decision in the case of Buta Singh. Thus, it is
settled that the High Court should not have deprived the
appellants of their rightful claim on the technical ground
of want of requisite court fees, and an opportunity should
have been afforded to them for payment of the deficit
H court fee. [Para 13] [518-A-C]
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 507
LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
Bhag Singh vs. Union Territory of Chandigarh (1985) 3 A
SCC 737 and Bhimasha v. Special Land Acquisition Officer
(2008) 1o sec 797, relied on.
*Buta Singh v. Union of India (1995) 5 SCC 283, referred
to.
B
**Scheduled Caste Coop. Land Owning Society Ltd. v.
Union of India (1991) 1 SCC 174, distinguished.
1.5. In Pal Singh's case, the court in principle
recognised the admissibility of previous decisions in a c
subsequent case as far as the market value of the
acquired land was concerned. Thus, for a judgment
relating to value of land to be admitted in evidence either
as an instance or as one from which the market value of
the acquired land could be inferred or deduced,. must D
have been a previous judgment of that same court and
this requirement is fulfilled in the instant case. However,
the requirement further was that it must have been
proved by the person relying upon such judgment by
adducing evidence aliunde and that due regard being
E
given to all other attendant facts and circumstances it
could furnish the basis for determining the market value
of the acquired land as it was the more important test for
admission of such previous decision of the High Court
for determination of market value of the land acquired in
the instant case. On a perusal of the materials submitted F
before this Court by the appellants, it must be concluded
that the appellants had failed to satisfactorily furnish the
basis for determining the market value of the acquired
land according to the decision of the same High Court
relied upon. [Para 15 and 16] [520-A-D] G
'>
*Pal Singh v. UT of Chandigarh AIR 1993 SC 225,
referred to.
H
508 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A 2.2. The judgment of the High Court as regards
determination of the market value of the lands of the
appellants is set aside. The market value of the acquired
lands of the appellants is fixed at Rs.32.10/- per sq. ft.
However the rest of the decision of the High Court is
B affirmed. The appellants are entitled to 30% solatium en
the enhanced compensation and interest accrued on it,
and 12% additional market value on the enhanced
compensation from the date of issuance of the
notification u/s 4 ( 1) of the Act, till the date of
c dispossession or till the date of award, whichever is
earlier. Moreover, they are also entitled to interest @ 9%
on the enhanced compensation amount from the date of
taking possession or award for a period of one year and
thereafter@ 15% till the amount is deposited. It is made
clear that the enhanced compensation shall be paid
0
subject to deposit of requisite court fees. [Para 17] [520-
F-H; 520-A-C]
Case Law Reference:
(1985) 3 sec 737 relied on Para 6
E
(1995) 5 sec 283 referred to Para 8
(1991) 1 sec 114 distinguished Para 8
(2oos) 1o sec 797 relied on Para 13
F
(1985) 3 sec 737 referred to Para 6
AIR 1993 SC 225 referred to Para 14
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
G 4163-4165 of 2009.
From the Judgment & Order dated 14.8.2003 of the High
Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in MFA CR. OB. No. 77/2003
in MFA No. 1409/2003, MFA CR. OB. No. 74/2003 in MFA No.
1342/2003 and MFA CR. OB. No. 73/2003 in MFA No. 1343/
H
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 509
LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER
2003. A
WITH
C.A. Nos. 4166-4176 of 2009, 4177 of 2009, 4178 of 2009.
A.K. Ganguli, Rajani K. Prasad, C.V. Subba Rao, V.V. B
Bageswadi, B. Subrahmanya Prasad, V.N. Raghupathy and
Ajay Kumar M. for the Appellants.
Sanjay R. Hegde, A. Rahen Singh, Amit Kr. Chawla and
Nishant Mishra for the Respondents. c
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
TARUN CHAITERJEE, J. 1. Leave granted.
2. These appeals by special leave arise from the related 0
judgments of the Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka
at Bangalore viz., judgment dated 14th of August, 2003 in MFA
No. 1409/2003 and batch, judgment dated 27th of August, 2003
in MFA No. 1341/2003 and batch, judgment dated 10th of
November, 2003 in MFA No. 5664/2003 and batch, and
judgment dated 16th of June, 2006 in MFA No. 5309/2004. On E
14th of August, 2003 the High Court, dismissing MFA No.
1409/2003 and batch, had fixed the market value of the lands
acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, (hereinafter
referred to as 'the Act') at Rs.23/- per square feet which was
contested by both the respondents as well as the appellants. F
This decision was relied upon in all the other decisions
mentioned above that have come up for appeals in the present
special leave petitions.
3. Since the decision dated 14th of August, 2003 was G
relied upon in all other judgments appealed against and the
issues are based on the same material facts, the facts in appeal
arising out of S.L.P. No.(s) 4997-4999/2005 are sufficient to
decide the questions of law that have arisen in all these
appeals. H
510 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A 4. On 5th of March, 1998, the lands of the appellant were
notified for acquisition under Section 4 (1) of the Act, for
establishment of rehabilitation centre for the ousters of Kanabur
and Jainapur Village submerged due to construction of Upper
Krishna Project. On 15th of August, 1998, Notification under
B Section 6 (1) of the Act was issued. On 1st of March, 1999,
the Land Acquisition Officer (hereinafter referred to 'LAO')
passed an award determining the compensation @ Rs. 54,
500/- per acre and possession of the land was taken by the
respondent on 31st of March, 1999. Consequent to Reference
c Application by the appellants, the LAO referred the matter to
the Civil Court for determination and adjudication of correct
market value payable for the acquired lands. The II Addi. Civil
Judge, Bijapur, allowed the petitions and came to the
conclusion that the acquired lands were similar in nature to
comparable lands acquired by LAO @ Rs.23/- per Sq. Ft. for
0
the purpose of ring road, and so the lands in question must be
valued on the same terms. However, the Civil Court resorted
to further deductions and held the market value of the said lands
to be only Rs.17/- per Sq. Ft. on 4th of November and 6th of
E November, 2002 respectively. The final amount worked out to
Rs.7, 40,500/- per Acre. It was submitted that as per the
Valuation Report dated 5th of August, 2002, submitted by PW2,
Retired Superintending Engineer (PWD), Consulting Engineer
and Registered Approved Valuer in respect of the acquired
lands, the market value of the lands in question had worked out
F to Rs.73.50/- per Sq. Ft.
5. On 21st of March, 2003, the Respondent LAO filed
Misc. First Appeal before the High Court of Karnataka for
reduction of compensation awarded by the Civil Court and the
G present appellants appealed for enhancement of
compensation. On 14th of August, 2003, the High Court held
that the market value of the lands would be more than Rs.32.20/
- per Sq. Ft., yet it restricted the amount to Rs.23/- only, in view
of the deficit in the Court Fee paid by the appellants in their
H
§HAN.PRt\§l'l~KHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 511
!.AND ACQUISITION OFFICER [TARUN CHATIERJEE, J.]
Cross-Objections, without affording the appellants to pay the A
balani;;e Co1,.1rt Fee . This oecisjon of the High Court was relied
--- upon in all the other judgments alreaoy mentioned as far as the
question of compensation amount is concerned, that have been
app~alec! against and the decision here shall have a common
effect on all the said judgments. B
6. The learned counsel for the appellants has submitted
that decision of the High Court not to grant enhanced
compensation at the rate of Rs.32.10/- per Sq. Ft. on the mere
technical ground that the appellants had restricted their claim C
to Rs.23/- per Sq. Ft. due to their inability to pay Court Fee was
fallacious. In this regard the learned counsel for the appellants .
has drawn our attention to the judgment in Bhag Singh v. Union
Territory of Chandigarh [(1985) 3 SCC 737] wherein it has
been laid down that a rightful claim of the claimant cannot be
defeateq on technical ground of want of requisite Court Fee. D
The relevant portion of the said 1.1rder and judgment of the High
Court may be referred to for proper decision of these appeals.
This Court\ observed in the aforesaid decision as follows :
"3. We are of the view that when the learned Single Judge E
and the Division Bench took the.view that the claimants
whose land was acquired by the State of Punjab under the
..
! -.
notifications issued under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act,
were entitled to enhanced compensation and the case of
the appellants stood on the same footing, the appellants F
should have been given an opportunity of paying up the
deficit court fee so that, like other claimants, they could also
get enhanced compensation at the same rate as the
others. The learned Single Judge and the Division Bench
should not have, in our opinion, adopted a technical G
approach and denied the benefit of enhanced
compensation to the appellants merely because they had
not initially paid the proper amount of court fee. It must be
remembered that this was not a dispute between two
·private citizens where it would be quite just and legitimate
H
512 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009] 10 S.C.R.
A to confine the claimant to !he claim made by him and not
to award him any higher amount than that claimed though
even in such a case there may be situations where an ..-
amount higher than that claimed can be awarded to the
claimant as for instance where an amount is claimed as
B due at the foot of an account. Here was a claim made by
the appellants against the State Government for
compensation tor acquisition of their land and under the
law, the State was bound to pay to the appellants
compensation on the basis of the market value of the land
c acquired and if according to the judgments of the learned
single Judge and the Division Bench, the market value of
the land acquired was higher than that awarded by the Land
Acquisition Collector or the Additional District Judge, there .::-
is no reason why the appellants should have been denied
the benefit of payment of the market value so determined.
D
To deny this benefit to the appellants would tantamount to
permitting the State Gove, nment to acquire the land of the
appellants on payment of less than the true market value.
There may be cases where, as for instance, under agrarian
reform legislation, the holder of land may, legitimately, as
E a matter of social justice with a view to eliminating
concentration of land in the hands of a few and bringing ,,..
about its equitable distribution, be deprived of land which
is not being personal!~· cultivated by him or which is in I
excess of the ceiling area with payment of little .,>
F compensation or no compensation at all, but where land
is acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, it would
not be fair and just to deprive the holder of his land without
payment of the true market value when the law, in so many
terms, declares that he shall be paid such market value.
G The State Government must do what is fair and just to the
citizen and should not, as far as possible, except in cases i ,...
where tax or revenue is received or recovered without
protest or where the State Government would otherwise
be irretrievably be prejudiced, take up a technical plea to
H
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 513
LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER [TARUN CHATIERJEE, J.]
• defeat the legitimate and just claim of the citizen We are, A
therefOie, of the view that, in the present case, the Division
Bench as well as the learned single Judge should have
allowed the appellants to pay up the deficit court fee and
awarded to them compensation at the higher rate or rates
determined by them." B
We are in respectful agreement with the views expressed
by this court, as noted herein above, in the above judgment, A
perusal of the decision of the High Court in the present case
gives a similar impression as was observed in the above
judgment, viz. once the court has taken the view that the
c
claimants (appellants in the present case) were entitled to
enhance compensation they should not be denied the same on
the mere technical ground of non payment of the court fees and
an opportunity must be given tor payment of the same.
• D
7. After examining the decision of the High Court, we are
of the view that the court has recognised the high value of the
lands of the appellants and have accordingly justified the same.
The High Court has observed that the locus and potentiality of
~
the acquired land with reference to evidence laid before the E
Civil court and that evidence was held to be a clear and
clinching proof of the high potential of the acquired land. The
... r High Court further observed that allowing escalation at the rate
of 10% p.a. for four years, the actual market value of the
acquired land would have been Rs.32.10/- per Sq. Ft. The High F
Court also took into consideration the awards passed by the
Civil Court in LAC No.180/1998 and LAC No.23/1998 and
observed that the entitlement of the appellants in the present
case would be far more than the rate of Rs. 32.10/- per Sq. Ft.
However the High Court then relied on the fact that the
G
)
appellants had failed to mobilize money towards court fee and
> so the claim was restricted to Rs.23/- per Sq. Ft. Nevertheless,
the High Court was of the opinion that State should be fair and
reasonable in compensating the uprooted agriculturists and it
should not be permitted to make unlawful gain while exercising
H
514 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A eminent domain power under the Act or any other statute.
a, Thus, we are of the c!~ar opinion that the High Court
seems to be at fault in yiew of the established IC!W emanating
--
from th!3 decision in ahag Singh (supra) as far as the restriction
8 of the compensation amount to Rs.23/- on the mare technical
ground of non- payment of the court fees is concerned.
However, the learned counsel far the respondent has drawn our
attention to the c:feci$ion in Buta Singh v. Union of India [(1995)
5 SCC 283), wherein a Constitution Bench of this Court had
affirmed and approved the law laid down in Scheduled Caste
C Coop. Land Owning Society Ltd. v. Union of India [(1991) 1
SCC 174). The Constitution Bench held the opinion that the
decision in Chand Kaur v. Union of India [(1994) 4 SCC 663]
was per incuriam the decision of this court in Scheduled Caste
Coop. (supra). The court. in Chand Kaur (supra) had r131ied on
D the law laid down by Bhag Singh (supra) while granting two
months time to. the appellants in that case to make up the
deficiency in the court fee in the LPAs which had been filed by
them. Thus, in Buta Singh (supra), the Constitution Bench of
this court pointed out that the decision in Chand Kaur (supra)
E had failed to take into account the law laid down in Scheduled
Caste Coop. (supra) which was a subsequent decision to that
of Bhag Singh (supra) and thus, the law as laid down by
Scheduled Caste Coop. (supra) was held to be the correct '
one.
F
9. Since we have already perused the judgment in Bhag
Singh (supra), now we need to examine the judgment in
Scheduled Caste Coop. (supra) and find out whether, in fact,
the Constitution Bench judgment of Bula Singh (supra) had
G rendered the law laid down in Bhag Singh (supra) null and void.
A perusal of the decision in Scheduled Caste Coop. (supra)
gives us the impression that the court had in fact agreed to the
views expressed by this Court in Bhag Singh (supra), as can
be observed in the following Unes on Bhag Singh (supra):
H "... the appellants had restricted their claim in the first
CHANDRASH!:KHAR &ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 515
LAND ACQUISlflON OFFICER [TARUN CHATTERJEE, J.]
appeal to the High Court by paying lesser court fee. After A
-
the judgment of the learned Single Judge, the appellants
realised that they were entitled to the benefit of enhanced
compensation which was denied to them as they had
restricted their claim by paying a lesser court fee. They
kept the matter alive by filing a Letters Patent Appeal along B
with several others who too were dissatisfied with the
amount awarded by the learned Single Judge. The
Division Bench of the High Court affirmed the judgment of
the learned Single Judge in regard to the rate of
compensation for the land comprising the belt having c
proximity to the road, but with regard to the land situate in
<
the owner belt, it enhanced the compensation to ..
-
i
•
Rs.38.720/- per acre as stated earlier. Since the Division
Bench also restricted the benefit of the enhanced
compensation to claimants who had paid the proper court .
0
fee, the appeal preferred by the appellants was dismissed. ,
The appellants did not rest there but carried the matter to
this Court by way of special leave. It will be clear from the
above facts that unlike the present petitioner-society the
appellants in that case kept the matter alive ... This Court
pointed out that since the case was not between two E
private parties and the claim was directed against the
Government for payment of compensation for expropriated
land the State Government was bound to pay
compensation on the basis of the marked value of the
acquired land and if according to the judgments of the F
learned Single Judge and the Division Bench the market
value was higher than that awarded by the Collector or the
reference court there was no reason to deny to the
appellants the benefit of payment of that market value
because to deny the same would tantamount to permitting G
the State Government to acquire land at a rate below the
market value. On this line of reasoning this Court allowed
the appellants to pay the deficit court fee and receive
compensation at the higher rate."
H
516 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009) 10 S.C.R.
A 10. The court clearly distinguished the factual position in •
that case from the material facts in Bhag Singh (supra), as can
be seen in the following lines·
" ... In the present case however, the petitioner-society while
-
preferring the appeal stated in r aragraph 11 of the Memo
B
of Appeal that their claim for enhanced compensation was
restricted to Rs.4,00,000/- over and above the amount
awarded by the reference court. It is further stated in that
paragraph that according to the appellants the market
value of the land is not less than 80,000/- per acre but as
c the appellants are not in a position to pay the huge court
fee, they arc restricting their claim to Rs.4,00,000/-. This
was a conscious decision on the part of the present ... _
appellant. The averment in that paragraph about their
incapacity to pay the court fee is doubtful having regard
D to the fact, that the appellants had received a substantial
amount by way of compensation under the award made
by the Collector as well as the reference court. Be that as
it may, the fact remains that though the appellants were
aware that the market value was higher, they deliberately
E restricted their claim to Rs.4.00,000/- and after the appeal
was disposed of by the learned Single Judge on
November 10, 1981 they allowed the matter to rest and
did not carry the same by way of an appeal to the Division
-
~
Bench. It was long after the decision rendered by this Court
F in Bhag Singh's case that the appellants filed an
application in 1987 to permit them to pay the deficit court
fee and claim the benefit of the difference in higher rate
of compensation awarded by the learned Single Judge.
Possibly they were inspired by the afore- quoted
G observations of this Court in Bhag Sing·s case. As stated
earlier, Shag Singh & Others had kept their matters alive
by preferring Letters Patent Appeals and thereafter "
approaching this Court under Article 136 of the
Constitution. On the other hand the present petitioners
H rested content with the amount claimed and received by
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 517
_, LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER [TARUN CHATIERJEE, J.]
them in paragraph 11 of their Memo appeal even after the A
decision of the learned Single Judge."
11. This court, in the case of Scheduled Caste Coop.
(supra), had one apprehension in mind, a justified one, that
entertainment of such a claim at such a belated stage would B
have opened up flood gates for similar applications in
innumerable cases which might have become final. This was
justified in view of the fact that the appellants in that case had
not kept their matter alive unlike in the present case or in the
case of Bhag Singh (supra). The same is reflected in the
following words of the court:
c
"... The petitioners herein were satisfied with the amount
I•
of Rs.4,00,000/-and did not apply to pay the deficit cou1t
fee soon after the judgment of the learned Single Judge
was rendered in 1981 but did so after a lapse of almost D
six years in 1987. The Full Bench of the High Court,
therefore, rightly held that to permit payment of deficit court
fee for recovering enhanced compensation after a lapse
of almost six years under its inherent jurisdiction would
encourage the practice of not paying the court fee in the E
hope that as and when the valuation is determined in
appeal the jurisdiction of the court can be invoked under
J
Section 151 of the Code and the benefit of enhanced
.. compensation can be reaped by making good the deficit
court fee." F
12. In view of the difference in material backgrounds of the
present case or Bhag Singh and Scheduled Caste Coop.
(supra), we are of the opinion that the apprehension mentioned
above can not be an issue in the present case.
G
13. From the observations as quoted herein earlier, we
conclude that the decision of the Constitution Bench in Buta
Singh (supra) has not reversed the decision in Bhag Singh
.-.• (supra) and the law laid down in Scheduled Caste Coop .
H
518 SUPREME COURr REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A (supra) is materially different from the law established by thi$
court in Bhag Singh (supra) since both the decisions dealt with
different matters and moreover the Scheduled Caste Coop.
(supra) decision has in fact recognised the validity of the law
laid down in Bhag Singh (supra). Therefore, we are of the
B opinion that following the judgment of Bhag Singh (supra) in
the present case shall not be in conflict with the opinion of the
Constitution Bench decision in the case of Buta Singh (supra).
Thus, in our opinion, it is settled that the High Court should not
have deprived the appellants of their rightful claim on the
c technical ground of want of requisite Court Fees and an
opportunity should have been afforded to them for payment of
the deficit Court Fee. This position is also supported by the
decision of this court in a recent case viz. Bhimasha v. Special
Land Acquisition Officer [(2008) 10 SCC 797] wherein it has
been held that the High Court should have, after taking note of
0
the facts of the case and the market value determined by it,
awarded the higher compensation subject to the payment of the
balance court fee.
14. Since we have come to the conclusion that the High
E Court was not justified in denying the appellants compensation
@ Rs.32.10/- pr Sq. Ft. after having recorded its finding that
the value of the required land would be not less than @
Rs.32.10/- pr Sq. Ft. on a mere technical ground that the Court
Fee paid by the appellants would entitle them to compensation
F of only Rs.23/- per Sq. Ft., we now proceed to consider the
other submissions of the appellants. The learned counsel for
the appellant submitted that since the High Court had awarded
compensation @ Rs.100.50/- per Sq. Ft. in MFA No. 2366/
2003 (LAC) C/W MFA CR.OB. No. 52/2004 [Asst.
G Commissioner & the LAO, Bijapur v Tukaram S/o. Shivaram
Zinjade, arising out of LAC No. 180/1998), the appellants
should also be awarded compensation at the same rate
affording an opportunity to them to pay the deficit court fee. In
this regard our attention was drawn to the decision of this Court
H in Pa/ Singh v. UT of Chandigarh [AIR 1993 SC 225].
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 519
LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER [TARUN CHATIERJEE, J.]
15. In the case of Pal Singh (supra), this court had A
examined the question whether a judgment of a court in a land
acquisition case determining the market value of a land in the
vicinity of acquired lands, even though not inter-parties, was
admissible in evidence in a subsequent case, either as an
instance or one from which the market value of the acquired B
land could be deduced or inferred. The court had analyzed the
same and expressed the following opinion:
"5. No doubt, a judgment of a court in a land acquisition
case determining the market value of a land in the vicinity C
of the acquired lands, even though not inter Partes, could
be admitted in evidence either as an instance or one from
which the market value of the acquired land could be
deduced or inferred as has been held by the Calcutta High
Court in H.K. Mallick's case [H,K. Mallick v. State of West
• Bengal (79 Calcutta Weekly Notes 378)) based on the D
authority of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in
Secretary of State v. Indian General Steam Navigation
and Railway Co. 19091.LR. 36 Cal. 967, where the Judicial
Committee did refuse to interfere with High Court judgment
in a land acquisition case based on previous awards, E
holding that no question of principle was involved in it."
So it seems that the court in principle recognised the
admissibility of such previous decisions in a subsequent case
as far as the market value of the acquired land was concerned. F
However, the court further held that:
· " ... But what cannot be overlooked is, that for a judgment
relating to value of land to be admitted in evidence either
as an instance or as one from which the market value of
the acquired land could be inferred or deduced, must have G
been a previous judgment of Court and as an instanc~. it
must have been proved by the person relying upon such
judgment by adducing evidence aliunde that due regard
being giveri to all atten~ant facts and circumstances, it
H
520 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.
A could furnish the basis for determining the market value of
the acquired land .. ."
16. Thus, for a judgment relating to value of land to be
admitted in' evidence either as an instance or as one from which
the market value of the acquired land could be inferred or
8
deduced, must have been a previous judgment of that same
court and this requirement is fulfilled in the present case.
However, the requirement was that it must have been proved
by the person relying upon such judgment by adducing evidence
aliunde and that due regard being given to all other attendant
C facts and circumstances it could furnish the basis for
determining the market value of the acquired land, is in our
opinion the more important test for admission of such previous
D
decision of the High Court for determination of the market value
of the land acquired in the present case. On a perusal of the
materials submitted before us by the appellants, we must
-
conclude that the appellants had failed to satisfactorily furnish
the basis for determining the market value of the acquired land
according to the decision of the same High Court in Assistant
Commissioner & the LAO (supra) at Rs.100.50/-. Per sq. ft.
E Thus, we conclude that this plea of the appellants is not
acceptable in the present case.
17. In view of our discussions made herein above and in
view of the decisions cited herein earlier, we are of the view
F that the decisions of the High Court impugned in these appeals
on the determination of the market value of the lands of the
appellants are set aside. We fix the market value of the
acquired lands of the appellants at Rs.32.10/- per sq. ft.
However the rest of the decision of the High Court is affirmed.
G In other words the appellants are entitled to 30% solatium on
the enhanced compensation and interest accrued on it. The
appellants are also entitled to 12% additional market value on
the enhanced compensation from the date of issuance of the
notification under Section 4 (1) of the Act, till the date of
dispossession or till the date of award, whict'lever is earlier.
H
CHANDRASHEKHAR & ORS. v. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL 521
- LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER [TARUN CHATTERJEE, J.]
Moreover they are also entitled to interest @ 9% on the A
' enhanced compensation amount from the date of taking
possession or award for a period of one year and thereafter
@ 15% till the amount is deposited. The compensation already
paid by the LAO shall be deducted. It is made clear that the
enhanced compensation which has now been directed to be B
paid to the appellants shall be paid if the appellants shall
deposit the requisite court fees on the aforesaid enhanced
amount within four months from the date of supply of a copy of
this order to the courts below.
18. These appeals are thus allowed to the extent indicated
c
above. There will be no order as to the costs.
-,' R.P. Appeals allowed.
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