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TMI Blog1984 (2) TMI 349X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by one group being Kausalya Devi Bogra and others and the other is by Syed Yusufuddin Syed Ziauddin. Since their lands were acquired under a common notification and as would be indicated later, the appeals were disposed of by the High Court by applying a common basis and these appeals at the request of the counsel have been heard together, they are being disposed of by a common judgment. The total acquisition was of about 150 acres of land. Out of it, the first group owned about 74 acres while the claim of Yusufuddin related to about 15 acres of land. In so far as the lands of Kausalya Devi's group are concerned, the Land Acquisition Officer determined compensation at 4 paise per square yard for the Navkhanda land in the two blocks besides statutory solatium of 15%. At the instance of the claimants reference was made to the Civil Judge who raised the compensation to 15 paise per square yard as against the claim laid at the rate of ₹ 2.50 per square yard. So far as Ahmadibag lands are concerned, the Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at the rate of 3 paise per square yard and on a reference to the Court, the learned Civil Judge raised the compensation to 12 pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot been challenged in appeal and had become final. That was, however, not a fact and First Appeal No. 628/72 had been taken to the High Court by the State. In Yusufuddin's case, as already indicated, the property acquired was around 15 acres. These lands were covered by two sector; 10 acres and 16 gunthas appertained to Sej Nos. 3, 4 and 5 while 5 acres 32 gunthas related to Saj No. 167, and all these lands were situated close to the road leading from Aurangabad City to Panchakki. The Land Acquisition Officer had given an award of ₹ 5454.71 inclusive of solatium of 15% for the first sector and a sum of ₹ 4614.11 inclusive of the solatium in respect of 5 acres 32 gunthas in Sej 167. The appellant was aggrieved by the Award and laid claim of ₹ 40,360 in respect of first block and ₹ 2,26,512 in respect of the other. On the basis of the evidence placed on record, the learned Civil Judge came to hold that market value of the property on the date of the preliminary notification was ₹ 4.50 per square yard but as the claimants had claimed a lesser amount, he confined the compensation to the amount claimed and fixed the compensation accordingly. The decisi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 23rd March, 1979. By a speaking order, the Supreme Court set aside the Judgment of this Court and remanded the original four appeals for being further heard and disposed of on merits. It is only in this manner that we are hearing today the said four appeals over again. For reasons which we will detail hereafter, we have not heard the parties on merits at all. It is true that the Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of this Court and remanded the appeals for further hearing and disposal according to law. That is what precisely we are doing but for reasons which we will record hereunder why we have not heard the parties on merits. On considering in detail the long and able judgment delivered by the two judges of this Court and after reading the Supreme Court order and noting the factual position, there is not much force in hearing the appeal afresh and further there is no necessity for the application of mind by another two judges of this Court to the same evidence which is on record. The factual position that has come to our notice reveals a state of affairs which cannot be described as very commendable so far as the handling of the Government litigation is concerned......... ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was produced, it was pointed out that this Court had already vacated the judgment of the Division Bench and the matter had been remanded. The Division Bench hearing the appeals after remand, therefore, directed as stated in its order: "We, therefore, said that the office may find out as to which are the group of appeals which were remanded and issue notice fixing 8th October, 1979 as the date of hearing along with those group of appeals. That is how they came to be shown on our Board from that day onwards continuously until they reached the final hearing. However, the very next day after 18th September 1979, Mr. Savant came to tell us that he would not be in a position to apply for additional evidence, as the very judgments of the Civil Judge in respect of which certain representations were made before the Supreme Court are those which are the subject-matters of First Appeals Nos. 179 and 180 of 1972 as also first appeal no. 628 of 1972. Since we had already adjourned the matter, we decided to hear these appeals first and take up these remanded appeals." The Division Bench continued to State: "The first factual position which we note here is that neither the app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rd Hailsham, L. C. observed: "The fact is, and I hope it will never be necessary to say so again, that in the hierarchical system of courts which exist in this country, it is necessary for each lower tier, including the Court of Appeal, to accept loyally the decisions of the higher tier." Lord Reid added: "It seems to me obvious that the Court of Appeal failed to understand Lord Delvin's speech but whether they did or not, I would have accepted them to know that they had no power to give any such direction and to realise the impossible position in which they were seeking to put those judges in advising or directing them to disregard a decision of this House." Lord Diplock observed at p. 874 of the Reports: "It is inevitable in a hierarchical system of courts that there are decisions of the Supreme appellate tribunal which do not attract the unanimous approval of all members of the judiciary. When I sat in the Court of Appeal, I sometimes thought the House of Lords was wrong in over ruling me. Even since that time there have been occasions, of which the instant appeal is one, when alone or in company. I have dissented from a decision of the majority ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Aurangabad was of historical importance. Not far away from it are the famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora. Aurangabad, therefore, had been of tourist importance from before. A fort and a palace of historical importance are in the vicinity of this town. There is evidence that the lands acquired in the instant appeals are located close to these spots. There is also evidence that these areas were developed and semi-developed portions of the town. The learned Civil Judge did take into account certain documents for fixing up the valuation of the property on the date of the notification. In Yusufuddin's case a sale deed of October 18, 1957, was relied upon where the valuation was about ₹ 4.50 per square yard. This sale deed was of the year of the notification though the transaction happened to be a few months after the date. The learned Civil Judge had found that the property was located not away from the acquired land. Exhibit 36 was also the certified copy of a sale deed of 1957 but since it had a construction on the property and the separate valuation thereof could not be known in the absence of any substantive, no reliance had actually been placed on this transaction. Exhibi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the matter of fixation of compensation relevant for the present purpose may be kept in view. When large tracts are acquired, the transaction in respect of small properties do not offer a proper guideline. Therefore, the valuation in transactions in regard to smaller property is not taken as a real basis for determining the compensation for larger tracts of property (see Prithvi Raj Taneja v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors(1).; Padma Uppal etc. v. State of Punjab & Ors(2). In certain other cases this Court indicated that for determining the market value of a large property on the basis of a sale transaction for smaller property a deduction should be given. In Special Land Acquisition Officer, Bangalore v. T. Adinarayan Setty, (3) a reduction of 25% was indicated while there are certain other cases where the view is that the reduction should be to the extent of 1/3. Again, in the very scheme for fixation of compensation provided by the Land Acquisition Act there is bound to be some amount of arbitrariness. The acquisition is deemed to be a statutory purchase and on the basis of evidence the law requires an assumed consideration to be determined. Keeping in view the fact that acquisi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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