IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL Nos.1574-1578 OF 2024 (Arising out of SLP(C)Nos.705-709 of 2023)

SIDDAPPA (DEAD) BY LR AND ORS. ETC. … APPELLANTS

Versus

THE SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER … RESPONDENT

O R D E R

1. Leave granted.

2. A Notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act') was issued on 19.11.1970 for acquisition of land in Bachihal Village, Muddebihal Taluk, Vijay Pura district for the purpose of establishment of a labour colony for Upper Krishna Project, Narayanpura. It followed a Notification dated 13.04.1972 under Section 6 of the Act. The Award, granting compensation at the rate of Rs.1,000/- per acre, was pronounced on 29.01.1973. The aggrieved land owners filed a Reference under Section 18 of the Act and after decades, the Reference Court decided the matter on 17.12.2016, granting enhanced compensation at the rate of Rs.96,000/- per acre for wet land and Rs.65,880/- per acre for dry land. The Special Land Acquisition Officer, feeling aggrieved by the enhancement, approached the High Court in First Appeal. Vide impugned judgment dated 30.06.2021, the High Court drastically reduced the compensation to Rs.3,465/- per acre for wet Digitally signed by satish kumar yadav Date: 2024.02.08 16:42:47 IST Reason: Signature Not Verified

land and Rs.2,310/- per acre for dry land respectively. The aggrieved appellants are before this Court.

3. We have learned counsel for the parties and carefully perused the material placed on record.

4. It seems that there was no direct exemplar produced by the parties before the Reference Court. It was in these circumstances, that the Reference Court relied upon the Awards passed in respect of the lands, which were acquired in the nearby area.

5. A perusal of para 19 of the Award passed by the Reference Court reveals that in respect of the lands in the nearby area, for which Notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued on 28.11.1974, compensation of Rs.1,09,800/- per acre for dry lands and Rs.1,60,000/- for irrigated lands was granted. The said compensation was upheld by the High Court and the Special Leave Petition No.11818/2014, preferred before this Court, was also dismissed except making a minor correction with regard to the interest' awarded by the High Court, which was directed to be treated as damages'.

6. We are, thus, of the view that, the Reference Court had applied its judicial mind and keeping in view the fact that the acquisition process in the instant case had started in 1970, it rightly determined the compensation at a rate lower than what was awarded in the year 1974. In the absence of any sale deed or other exemplar, the recourse adopted by the Reference Court was reasonable, fair and fully justified. The High Court, thus, ought not to have interfered with the Award passed by the Reference

2

Court.

7. For the reasons aforestated, the appeals are allowed; the impugned judgment dated 30.06.2021, passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Kalaburagi Bench, is set aside and the Award passed by the Reference Court dated 17.12.2016 is restored.

8. The appellants shall be entitled to the compensation along with all other statutory benefits as per the Award of the Reference Court.

.........................J. (SURYA KANT)

..............…….........J. (K.V. VISWANATHAN)

NEW DELHI; FEBRUARY 02, 2024.

ITEM NO.38 COURT NO.4 SECTION IV-A

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).705-709/2023

(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 30-06-2021 in MFA No.202457/2017, MFA No.202458/2017, MFA No.202459/2017, MFA No.202460/2017 and MFA No.202461/2017 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Kalaburagi)

SIDDAPPA (DEAD) BY LR AND ORS. ETC. Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

THE SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER Respondent(s)

Date : 02-02-2024 These petitions were called on for hearing today.

CORAM :

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.V. VISWANATHAN

• For Petitioner(s) Mr. Sharanagouda Patil, Adv. Mrs. Supreeta Patil, Adv. Mr. Jyotish Pandey, Adv. For M/S. S-legal Associates, AOR
• For Respondent(s) Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR Mr. Manendra Pal Gupta, Adv. Mr. M. Bangaraswamy, Adv. Mr. Premnath Mishra, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

Leave granted.

The appeals are allowed in terms of the signed order.

(SATISH KUMAR YADAV) (PREETHI T.C.) DEPUTY REGISTRAR COURT MASTER (NSH) (Signed order is placed on the file)