JASPAL SINGH & OTHERSversusTHE STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS

670                      [2022]REPORTS
               SUPREME COURT   15 S.C.R. 670               [2022] 15 S.C.R.


A                         JASPAL SINGH & OTHERS
                                        v.
                  THE STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS
                      (Civil Appeal Nos. 7516-7521 of 2022)
B                             OCTOBER 20, 2022
                [M. R. SHAH AND M. M. SUNDRESH, JJ.]
             Land Acquisition Act,1894 – ss.4,6,11 – Compensation –
      Enhancement of – Lands were acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power
      Plant under the provisions of 1894 Act – Acquisition collector
C     determined and awarded compensation @ Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre
      – Reference court enhanced amount of compensation @
      Rs.17,64,350 per acre – High Court reduced the amount of
      compensation to Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre – Before Supreme Court,
      landowners placed reliance upon the decision of the case Arawali
      Power Company Private Limited where compensation @
D     25,00,000/- per acre was awarded and contention was raised that
      the lands acquired in the present case and lands acquired for Arawali
      Power Company Private Limited are similarly situated – Held: Both
      the lands in present case and the lands in issue in the case of Arawali
      Power Project are similarly situated – Further, held that considering
E     the Evidence on record and sale instances and considering the fact
      that landowners shall be entitled to just and reasonable
      compensation and taking in consideration of the Arawali Power
      Company Private Limited case into account – Compensation
      @22,00,000/- per acre was awarded – Judgement and order passed
      by High Court was modified accordingly.
F
            Allowing the appeals, the Court
            HELD: 1. Considering the evidence on record and the sale
      instances which were relied upon on behalf of the landowners
      and while considering the fact that the landowners shall be entitled
      to just and reasonable compensation for the lands acquired and
G     taking into consideration the decision of this Court in the case of
      Arawali Power Company Private Limited, this Court is of the
      opinion that if the landowners in the present case are awarded
      compensation at the rate of Rs. 22,00,000/- per acre, the same
      can be said to be just and reasonable compensation. [Para 8][676-
H     C-E]
                                       670
JASPAL SINGH & OTHERS v. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND                            671
                     OTHERS

         Arawali Power Company Private Limited (Civil Appeal                 A
         No. 8757 of 2016 and connected appeals decided on
         05.09.2017 by the Supreme Court) – relied on.
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 7516-
7521 of 2022.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 21.03.2022 of the High Court         B
of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in RFA Nos. 484 of 2019, 3480
and 3457 of 2014, 4699 of 2015, 4513 and 4515 of 2018.
         With
      Civil Appeal Nos. 7524-7531, 7447-7448, 7449-7477, 7478-7512,          C
7513, 7545-7579, 7544, 7581-7584 of 2022.
      Shyam Divan, Rameshwar Singh Malik, Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Sr.
Advs., Gaurav Agrawal, Pallav Mongia, Ankush Mangal, Tushar
Srivastava, Rakesh Dahiya, Aditya Dahiya, Satyavan Kudalwal, Kapil
Dahiya, Akshat Jain, Aditya Dahiya, Deepkaran Dalal, Raunaq Dalal,           D
Tonish Singh, Dalel Singh, Ajay Pal, Mayank Dahiya, Ms. Priyanka C.,
Kuldeep Singh Kochaliya, Jitesh Malik, Satish Kumar, Nirnimesh Dube,
Ankur S. Kulkarni, Susheel Joseph Cyriac, Ms. Sonia Dube, Ms. Uditha
Chakravarthy, M/S. Lex Regis Law Offices, Samar Vijay Singh, Vipin
Singh Bansal, Ms. Amrita Verma, Advs. for the appearing parties.
                                                                             E
         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
         M. R. SHAH, J.
        1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned common
judgment and order dated 21.03.2022 passed by the High Court of Punjab
and Haryana at Chandigarh in R.F.A. No. 2086/2016 and other allied           F
first appeals, by which the High Court has allowed the appeals preferred
by the respondents herein and has dismissed the appeals preferred by
the appellants herein – original claimants/landowners, the original
claimants/landowners have preferred the present appeals.
         2. The facts leading to the present appeals in a nutshell are as    G
under:
      That the lands situated at village Jharli, District Jhajjar, Haryana
came to be acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant. Notification under
Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as
the ‘Act 1894’) came to be issued on 09.04.2007. Declaration under           H
672             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 15 S.C.R.


A     Section 6 of the Act, 1894 was issued on 13.11.2007. The Land
      Acquisition Collector declared the award under Section 11 of the Act,
      1894 and determined and awarded compensation at Rs. 16,00,000/- per
      acre. The Reference Court enhanced the amount of compensation to
      Rs. 17,64,350/- per acre. The acquiring body/beneficiary as well as the
      original claimants/landowners both preferred appeals before the High
B
      Court challenging the judgment and award passed by the Reference
      Court, awarding compensation at Rs. 17,64,350/- per acre. By the
      impugned common judgment and order, the High Court has allowed the
      appeals preferred by the State/acquiring body and dismissed the appeals
      preferred by the original claimants/landowners and has reduced the
C     amount of compensation to Rs.16,00,000/- per acre, as determined and
      awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector. The impugned common
      judgment and order passed by the High Court is the subject matter of
      present appeals at the instance of the original claimants/landowners.
             2.1 At this stage, it is required to be noted that in the present case
D     the acquiring lands of village Jharli were on the west side of Bahu Road,
      Jhajjar, Haryana. Simultaneously, the lands of village Jharli situated on
      the east side of Bahu Road, Jhajjar, Haryana came to be acquired for
      Arawali Power Company Private Limited. The said lands were just
      opposite of the land acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant and in
      one case – in the case of Jagvir (appellant in Civil Appeal Nos.7447-
E     7448/2022), the lands acquired for both the projects were out of the
      same survey No. 73. For acquisition of the lands for Arawali Power
      Company Private Limited, notification under Section 4 of the Act, 1894
      was issued on 16.01.2007. Declaration under Section 6 was issued on
      12.04.2007. The Land Acquisition Collector determined and awarded
F     compensation at Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre. The Reference Court also
      determined compensation at Rs.16,00,000/- per acre. However, the High
      Court enhanced the amount of compensation to Rs. 29,00,400/- per acre.
      By common judgment and order dated 05.09.2017, this Court allowed
      the appeals preferred by Arawali Power Company Private Limited and
      dismissed the appeals preferred by the landowners/original claimants by
G     determining compensation at Rs.25,00,000/- per acre (Civil Appeal No.
      8757 of 2016 and connected appeals, decided on 05.09.2017).
             2.2 Before the High Court, at the time of hearing of the present
      appeals, the original claimants/landowners relied upon the decision of
      this Court in the case of Arawali Power Company Private Limited (supra).
H
JASPAL SINGH & OTHERS v. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND                              673
               OTHERS [M. R. SHAH, J.]

However, considering the observations made by this Court while                 A
awarding compensation at the rate of Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre that “in
the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and not to be treated as
precedent “, the High Court has not followed the said judgment and has
determined compensation at the rate of Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre, as
determined by the Land Acquisition Collector. Hence, the present appeals
                                                                               B
at the instance of the landowners/original claimants.
       3. Shri Shyam Divan, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf
of the original claimant/landowner in Civil Appeal Nos. 7447-7448 of
2022, arising out of R.F.A. Nos. 2086 & 2087 of 2016 has vehemently
submitted that the lands acquired in the present case for Jhajjar Thermal
Power Plant and the lands acquired for Arawali Power Company Private           C
Limited are similarly situated. It is submitted that even in the case of the
appellant/landowner/original claimant in Civil Appeal Nos. 7447-7448/
2022, the land in both the cases have been acquired out of the very land
bearing survey No. 73 and in between only one road – Bahu Road is
passing. It is submitted that therefore the appellant shall be entitled to     D
the compensation at the rate of Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre, as determined
by this Court in the case of Arawali Power Company Private Limited
(supra).
       3.1 It is further submitted that the landowners/original claimants
are entitled to just compensation. It is submitted that as such there is no    E
difference between the lands acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant
and the lands acquired for Arawali Power Company Private Limited,
except that one road – Bahu Road is passing between the lands acquired
for both the projects. It is submitted that it may not be that for one part
of the land, the compensation will be at Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre and for
another part of the very land/survey No. 73, the compensation will be at       F
Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre. Therefore, it is prayed to allow the present
appeals accordingly.
      3.2 The other learned Senior Advocates/Advocates appearing for
the respective landowners/original claimants have adopted the
submissions made by Shri Shyam Divan, learned Senior Advocate.                 G
      4. All these appeals are opposed by Shri Neeraj Kishan Kaul,
learned Senior Advocate representing the Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant.
      4.1 So far as the reliance placed upon the decision of this Court in
the case of Arawali Power Company Private Limited (supra) is
                                                                               H
674             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 15 S.C.R.


A     concerned, it is submitted that the said judgment may not be applied as in
      the said judgment, it is specifically observed by this Court that the said
      judgment is in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and not
      to be treated as precedent. It is submitted that therefore the High Court
      has rightly not awarded compensation as awarded in the case of Arawali
      Power Company Private Limited (supra).
B
             4.2 It is submitted that in the present case the claimants relied
      upon two sale exemplars/sale deeds which were executed in the year
      2010, i.e., post Section 4 notification and one sale deed/sale exemplar
      dated 16.05.2007 was with respect to small parcel of land. It is submitted
      that therefore the High Court has rightly not relied upon on the sale
C     exemplars/sale deeds post Section 4 notification. It is submitted that
      thereafter having observed that the claimants/landowners have not led
      any evidence to give the comparative geographical location and evidence
      to the effect that these sale instances are comparable, the High Court
      has rightly allowed the appeals preferred on behalf of the Jhajjar Thermal
D     Power Plant and has rightly determined the compensation at the rate of
      Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre.
            4.3 Learned counsel representing the State of Haryana has
      supported the impugned common judgment and order passed by the High
      Court and has fully endorsed the submissions made by the learned counsel
E     appearing on behalf of the Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant.
             5. We have heard learned counsel for the respective parties at
      length.
             At the outset, it is required to be noted that with respect to the
      lands acquired for Arawali Power Company Private Limited for which
F     notification under Section 4 of the Act, 1894 was issued on 16.01.2007,
      this Court had determined the compensation at the rate of
      Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre. It is required to be noted that the lands acquired
      in the present case and the lands acquired for Arawali Power Company
      Private Limited were of the same village Jharli, District Jhajjar, Haryana.
G     The only difference is that the lands acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power
      Plant are on the west side of Bahu Road, Jhajjar, whereas the lands
      acquired for Arawali Power Project were on the east side of Bahu Road,
      Jhajjar. The lands acquired in both the cases are just across the Bahu
      Road, Jhajjar, Haryana. At this stage, it is required to be noted that out of
      the lands acquired, the land bearing survey No. 73 owned by the original
H     landowner – Jagvir (appellant in Civil Appeal Nos. 7447-7448 of 2022)
JASPAL SINGH & OTHERS v. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND                              675
               OTHERS [M. R. SHAH, J.]

was also acquired for both the projects. The resultant effect pursuant to      A
the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court would be
that with respect to some portion of land out of survey No. 73 acquired
for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant, the landowner will get compensation
at the rate of Rs. 16,00,000/- per acre and with respect to other parcel
of land out of survey No. 73 acquired for Arawali Power Project, the
                                                                               B
landowner will be getting compensation at the rate of Rs. 25,00,000/-
per acre.
       6. Having considered the location of the lands acquired for Jhajjar
Thermal Power Plant as well as Arawali Power Project, we are of the
opinion that the lands acquired for both the projects can be said to be
similarly situated with some difference in the time gap of issuance of         C
section 4 notification. Once the landowners whose lands have been
acquired for Arawali Power Project are held to be entitled to compensation
at Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre, the landowners whose lands have been
acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant cannot be denied the just and
reasonable compensation. There will be a vast difference in amount of          D
compensation for the lands acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant
and the Arawali Power Project, which as observed hereinabove can be
said to be similarly situated. In one case, the landowners/claimants are
held to be entitled to compensation at the rate of Rs. 16,00,000/- per
acre (in the case of lands acquired for Jhajjar Thermal Power Plant)
and with respect to the lands acquired for Arawali Power Project, the          E
landowners/claimants are entitled to compensation at the rate of Rs.
25,00,000/- per acre.
       7. It may be true that while determining compensation at the rate
of Rs. 25,00,000/- per acre by this Court in the case of Arawali Power
Company Private Limited (supra), the words used are “in the peculiar           F
facts of the case and not to be treated as precedent”. However, the said
words “in the peculiar facts of the case and not to be treated as precedent”
are to be considered in the context in which the same are used. From
the observations and order passed by this Court, wherever the words
used are “in the peculiar facts of the case and not to be treated as           G
precedent”, the same can be said to be with respect to consideration of
the sale deeds which were executed in the year 2010 (post section 4
notification). As the sale deeds/sale exemplars which were considered
by this Court were post section 4 notification, this Court had taken into
consideration the sale deeds post section 4 notification by observing that
                                                                               H
676            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2022] 15 S.C.R.


A     it was agreed between the parties that the subsequent sale deeds were
      bona fide and could be taken into consideration. The observations that
      “in the peculiar facts of the case and not to be treated as precedent” are
      to be construed while considering the sale deeds executed post section 4
      notification. As per the settled position of law, normally the sale deeds/
      sale exemplars post section 4 notification may not be taken into
B
      consideration. However, as it was agreed between the parties that the
      subsequent sale deeds were bona fide and could be taken into
      consideration, to that and in the peculiar facts of the case and not to be
      treated as precedent, this Court had taken into consideration the
      subsequent sale deeds and determined compensation at Rs. 25,00,000/-
C     per acre after giving a reasonable deduction, i.e., 15% deduction.
             8. However, at the same time, considering the evidence on record
      and the sale instances which were relied upon on behalf of the landowners
      and while considering the fact that the landowners shall be entitled to
      just and reasonable compensation for the lands acquired and taking into
D     consideration the decision of this Court in the case of Arawali Power
      Company Private Limited (supra), we are of the opinion that if the
      landowners in the present case are awarded compensation at the rate of
      Rs. 22,00,000/- per acre, the same can be said to be just and reasonable
      compensation. The impugned common judgment and order is required
      to be modified to the aforesaid extent.
E
             9. Now so far as the landowners in the appeals arising out of RFA
      Nos. 4322/2016, 4682/2016, 804/2017 and 805/2017 are concerned,
      considering the order passed by the High Court dated 17.08.2018 passed
      while condoning the delay in filing/refiling the appeals on condition that
      the landowners shall not be entitled to interest on the enhanced amount
F     of compensation, if any, the landowners shall not be entitled to interest
      for the period of delay in filing/refiling the said appeals before the High
      Court.
             10. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the
      present appeals succeed. The impugned common judgment and order
G     passed by the High Court is hereby modified and it is observed and
      directed that the landowners whose lands have been acquired for Jhajjar
      Thermal Power Plant shall be entitled to compensation at the rate of
      Rs. 22,00,000/- per acre. The landowners shall also be entitled to all the
      statutory benefits including interest which may be available under the
H     Act, 1894. However, it is observed and directed that so far as the
JASPAL SINGH & OTHERS v. THE STATE OF HARYANA AND                             677
               OTHERS [M. R. SHAH, J.]

landowners in the appeals arising out of RFA Nos. 4322/2016, 4682/            A
2016, 804/2017 and 805/2017 are concerned, they shall not be entitled to
any interest on the enhanced amount of compensation for the period of
delay in filing/refiling the appeals before the High Court.
       11. All these appeals are allowed to the aforesaid extent. However,
in the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to     B
costs.

Ankit Gyan                                                 Appeals allowed.
(Assisted by : Aarsh Choudhary, LCRA)

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