UOI v. Kartar Singh & Anr

1. Whether the Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the j udg n?ent?

3 Whether the judgment should be reported in the tigest? PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, I (Oral)

1 I am deciding the above captioned appeals and relatable civil miscellaneous applications which are by way of cross objections, all of which have been listed hereinabove L APP 784/2005 & connected 2 The present decision concerns isue of fixation of ftr market value of land in the revenue estate of Village Bakkarw '1a and village Mundka

3 The dates ir which fair market value of the land has to be determined may be graphically noted as inder - S No Name of Viliage Date of, not:ficbtion under, Section 4 of the LA Act

4 It may be hfrghlighted that the notification at serial 11111111b No 2 hereinabove, pertaining to village Bakkarwala, is the same pursuant whereto lands wee..cq.ui ed in the reVenue estätë o Village Mundka, as per serial No 5 above • •, •...•

5 Abutting NH-10, leading from the city of Delhi to the township of ohtak in the State of Haryana, are villages Mundka, Ghevra and Tikr: Kalan Village Bakkarwala lies towards the other side of, the Southern boundary of village Mundka The difference between the tbpology of the two villages is, whereas the land oof village Mundka abuts NH40, that Qf village 1 Bakkarwala does not so abut, being on the other side of the Southern boundary of revenue estate of village Mundka

6 As we proceed from the city of Delhi to the township of Rohtak, village Mundka is crossed first, followed by village t Ghevra and then village Tikri Kalan

7 Agricultural lands in village Mundka we acquired -.- -- - pursuant to a notification dated 25 2 1997 issued under Sectl9n' 4 of the Lard Acquisition Act as per award No 2/1999/2000 Agricultural lands in the revenue estate of village Mundka were further 8cqoiredoi pursuant to a notification dated 21 3 2003 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act as per award No 3/2005-06as also award No 1/2005-06 Further lands in the revenue estateof the same village were acquired pursuant to a notification dated 17 6 2005 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act as per Award No 13/2006-07 8 Agricultural lands in the revenue estate of villagel Bakkarwala were acquired pursuant to a notification dated.24.9.2003 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisitipn Act as 1 per Award No 3/2004-05 Further lands in the revenue estate of the same village were acquired pursuant to' a notification dated 17 6,2005 (the same notification under which lands in village Mundka were acquired) as per award No 1/2006-07 9 In a nut shell, the Land Acquisition Collector 4 determined the fair market value of the acquired lands, under aIl the awards, with reference to the minimum price for agricultural land as notified by the Government of NCT Delhi

10 For clarity I may note that' pertaining to the notification dated 25 2 1997 under which agricultural lands in the revenue estate of village Mundka were acquired, the learned Land Acquisition Collector determined the fair market value with reference to the minimum price for agricultural 1and notified with effect from 1 4 1997 @ Z10 lacs per acre and since the date of Section 4 notification was anterior in point of time, discounted H Government of NCT Delhi had fixed the minimum value for agricultural lands in Delhi i e 1 4 1997, but as against the Land Acquisition Collector, depressing the price @ 11 5% for full one year, adopting the percentage 11 5, decreased the value by[4] only 34 days inasmuch as the date witI reference whereto Government had notified the minimum value was 1 4 1997 and the notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was dated 25 2 1997 This was the value fixed for category A lands.and for category B lands;, with reference to the Values.for category A Land depressed the same by 90,000/- per acre

13 Thus, for category, A lands the Reference Court determined the fair market value @ 9,89,288/- per acre and for category B land the same was determined @ 8,99,288I[7] per, acre

14 Pertaining to the notifications cFated 21 3 2003 and 24 9 2003 whereunder agricultural lands in village Mundka and village Bakkarwala respectively were acquired, the Reference, Court took note of the fact that after the Government had' 4 notified the minimum rates fOr agricultural.. lands in Delhi.as of, 1 4 2001 the next revision was as of 30 8 2005 Using the said dates and the minimum price notified by the Government of NCT Delhi, the Reference Court adopted the principle of mean average What the Reference Court did was to adopt the value as of 1 4 2001 and increasing the same by 10% per annum determined the enhanced price as 1of 21 3 2003 as also 24 9 2003 Thereafter the Referencej Court took the value notified as of 30 8 2005 and depressing the same by 10% per S.,. •,'....5. '. 4 k I H annum determined the sum arrived at as of 21 2003 as also 24 2003 The two suns arrived at yvero added and divided y 21 3 2003, I tw to arrive at the mean figure asf which comes to[1],92,083 33 per acre (Insome decisions I note the sum arrived at is Z15,92,215/-) For the date 24 9 2003 the price determined was 20,41,000I- per acre

15 PtainIn to the notification dated 17 6 2095 pursuant wfrreto agricultural lands were acquired in village Bakkarwala nd Mundka the learned Reference Court adopted the minimum price for agricultural lands notified by the Government f NCT Delhi with effect from 1 4 2001 and giving increase @1%. p e r annum determined the value and With respect to the lands in village Mundka, on account of locational advantag, being abutting NH-lU gave 5% more and determined the fair market value as of 17 6 2005 in sum of, 21,37,017 75 per acre and for, village Bakkarwala the price determined was 20,35,255/- per acre

16 In the aforesaid backdrop of the factual scenario n r Which I h penned profiled the reasoning of. the Lafld Acquisition lIector as also that of the Reference Court, I delve nto the argnents advanced before me during hearing today 17 with referBnce to the evidence led in LAC No 384/2004 /amna V.S.1.10/ & Ors, it was urged by Sh LB Rai, Ir.', f A A OA H an biswa of agricuftural land in village Mundka was sold as of 5 '8 1996 for a sale consideration of 4,75,000/- 38,000/- was incurred towards sale duty and thus the price of the land would be Z[5],13,000/ and calculated with reference thereto, land price per b i g h a. would come to 4,46,000/- as of 5.8.1906, Learned counsel would urge that there is no reason not to hold that fair market value of agricultural lands in village Mundka was 4,46,000/- per bigha as of.5.8..1996. Taking the argument forward, it is urged that with reference to the said price, fair market value neeçis to be determined as of 25 1993, 21 3 2003 and 17.6.2005, I e the dates when notifications under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act were issued pursuant whereto agricultural lands were acquired in village Mundka, by increasing the price progressively, if not by 12% per annum at least by 10%per anhui:. it is urged that on the same ba.sis land price should be determined for the agricultural lands in village Bakkarwala Alternatively, it w a s urgd that since villages Tikri Kalan, Mundka and Bakkarwala ae contiguous villages, and in fact village Tikri Kalan is further towards the township of Rohtak, some increase be made in the value of the land in village Mundka and Bakkanwata with reference,to the judgment and decree dated 19 12 2008 deciding a batch of Land Acquisition Appeals, lead matter being LA Appeal No 193/2006 Pratap Singh (Deceased) Thr LR[5] Vs '(JO! as per which fair market value of land, per bigha, was determined in the revenue estate of village Tikri Kalan as of 16 11 1995, 116 1996 and 17 12 2002 at 2,15,164/- for category A land.1. as Petitions for Special Leave to Appeal filed before the Supreme Court by either side have been dismissed Learned counel takes the argument forward by urging that by adopting t1e fair market value of land in village Bakkarwala as of 15 10 1993 at 1,32,000/- per bigha, the fair market value should be ascertained by increasing the price progressively by '10% per nnum to determine the market value of land in village Bakkarwala as of 24 9 2003 as also 17 6 2005 Learned counsel would urge that in view of the locational advantage of viIlage Mundka, fair market value of land in village Mundka should be determined as of 25.2.1997, 21 3 2003 and 17.6.2005, by giving 5% increase

22 With respect to the sale deed Ex,.P-1, whereunder 1, bia and 3 biswa of agricultural land was sold in Village gh Mundka as of 5.8.1996, it would assume importance that the sale is about 7 months prior to the date of the notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, which was issued on 25 1997 It is a matter of common knowledge that preceding the publication of a notification under Section 4 of the Land.Acqüisitin Act; survey's are carried:•out with the objecto determifling as to what lands, comprised in which khasra numbers and fields are required to be notified for the proposed acquisitlon and when this happens people in the area come to know that very soon there is every likelihood that the lands t would be acquired In Delhi, the large scale acqu)sitlon policy, enjoins upon the Government to allot, at pr determined rates, a plot of developed residential land to the ones whose lands are LA APP 784OO[5] & connected Pge 13 of 19 1,: would show that the Court assessed the fair market value with eference to sale deeds executed between the years 1990 till the year 1996 either in Village Tikri Kalan or Village Mundka, apparently on thepremise that being contiguous villagers, sale price of agricultural land in the 2 adjoining villages would be indicative of fair market value of lard in Village Bakkarwala

26 In Pratap Sing,'s case (supra), the Division Bench was concerned with agricultural lands in Tikri Kalan and another adjoining Village named Ghevra andpertaining to various notifications issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act determined the fair market value of agricultural lands in Village Tikri Kalan and G•hevra as under:.-: I am left with the notification dated 24 9 21)03 pertintng to Village Bakkarwala and with reference to the fair market value assessed jn ChirantI La/s case, I would require to appreciate the price by 10% per annum for a period of, 201 days, the figure comes to 4,25,641I- per bigha i e 20,43,076 80 per acre, which I determine to be the fair market value of land in Village Bakkarwala as of 24.9.2003.