2023 SCMR 102
Land acquisition --- Compensation , enhancement of --- Commercial nature of acquired land --- Patwari ' and ' professional property evaluator ' , evidence of --- Report of Local Commission , reliance upon --- Land owners produced the Patwari of the village , who in his examination - in - chief clearly stated that to the east of the land was commercial land , to the west was a bypass road , to the north was a main ( inter - city ) road , and to the south was also commercial area --- Said statement was not cross - examined , and thus , it would be deemed to have been admitted by the acquiring authority --- Another important witness produced by the land owners to determine the kind of land was a Civil Engineer who was also a professional property evaluator ; he stated in his examination - in - chief that the area was commercial and industrial and during cross - examination he told the same boundaries of the acquired land as told by the Patwari --- Reference Court appointed a Local Commission , who visited the site , prepared a site plan , recorded the statement of the parties and witnesses , and prepared his report stating that the land was of very valuable and commercial nature and situated in the factory area --- Commissioner's integrity and carefulness was unquestioned , his careful and laborious execution of task was proved by his report , and he had not blindly adopted the assertion of either party , and thus , it was not safe for the Court to disregard it or interfere with the result of a careful local investigation as to the use and location of the land acquired --- Notwithstanding the absence of evidence regarding the use of land at the time of acquisition , it had become commercial by virtue of being situated in a commercial area --- Subject land was of a commercial nature , thus , its compensation had to be determined accordingly --- Letter from the Provincial Board of Revenue was available on record which showed that the rate of commercial land of the village had been fixed at Rs.40,000 / per marla --- Nothing was available on record nor was it submitted during the arguments that anyone was paid more than Rs.40,000 / - per marla for the commercial land of the village , so balancing the interest of the land owners ( appellants ) with the public interest , the same rate should be for the land of the appellants --- Appeal waş partly allowed , and the Supreme Court enhanced the compensation awarded from Rs.1200 / - per marla to Rs.40,000 / - per marla , with the appellants entitled to all statutory benefits , including compulsory acquisition charges and compound interest , as already awarded by the High Court .
Land Acquisition Act ( I of 1894 ) ---
--S . 23 ( 1 ) -- Land acquisition --- Matters to be considered by Court in determining compensation stated . The Court assessing compensation is required to take into consideration not only the present purpose or the present use to which the land is applied but also any other more beneficial purpose to which it might reasonably be put by the owner . Indubitably , it is true that regard can be had only to the existing conditions and what is likely to happen in reasonably near future and compensation cannot be fixed on the basis of what might happen in the dim and distant future . Where there is a reasonable possibility of the land being put to a more profitable use within a reasonable period the same cannot be ignored in assessing its value . Compensation has always to be determined by reference to the price which a willing vendor may reasonably expect to obtain from a willing purchaser . When the land possesses some unusual , special or unique features as to its location or potentialitics , due weight must be attached to all these elements . After considering all the circumstances . the Court has to arrive at a fair estimate with reference to the surrounding circumstances and evidence in the case and to award a fair compensation on that basis . The Court further ought to be liberal in the sense that it should not be too meticulous or pedantic in dealing with the evidence . It is also true that an entry in the revenue record as to the nature of the land may not be conclusive . If the land acquired is found to be useful both for agricultural or non - agricultural purposes , merely on the ground that it was used as agricultural land by the owner till the time of its acquisition , its potentiality as non - agricultural land cannot be ignored .
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