In a civil appeal against a Reference Court's compensation award, the High Court observed insufficient reasoning and evidence regarding land classification. It directed a split calculation based on the 1982 sale deed rate.
Respondents entitled to Rs.16,600 per hectare for half the land and Rs.24,900 per hectare for the remaining half.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
FIRST APPEAL NO. 1024 OF 1992
The State of Maharashtra ..Appellants
versus
Biru Sayappa Sagar & Ors. ..Respondents
Mr. S. N. Gawade, AGP for the Appellants.
None for the Respondents.
CORAM : D. G. DESHPANDE,J.
DATE : 20TH APRIL,2005
ORAL ORDER :
1. Heard learned AGP for the State which has
filed this Appeal against the Order of the Reference
Court dated 18.3.1991. The Respondents are served,
nobody is present for the Respondents.
2. The land admeausring 2 H 28 Ares of the
claimants was acquired. SLAO awarded Rs.30,507.20
as a total compensation. The claimants therefore
filed Reference. Reference court enhanced the
compensation to Rs.30,000/- per hectare.
3. The learned AGP contended that the sale
deeds dated 4.11.1968 and 19.8.1982 were in respect
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of Bagayat land; whereas one sale deed dated
1.6.1982 was in respect of Jirayat land, that sale
deed even if accepted would enable the claimants to
get Rs.16,600/- per hectare and not Rs.30,000/- per
hectare.
4. From the judgment, it appears that no
reasonings have been given by the Reference Court
for awarding Rs.30,000/- per hectare as
compensation. Relevant sale deed is of 1.6.1982 and
the rate per hectare in that sale was Rs.16,600/-
per hectare, therefore the claimants would be
entitled to, as rightly argued by the learned AGP,
for compensation of Rs.16,600/- per hectare.
5. However, from the judgment and evidence it
appears that out of 2 H 28 Ares, part of land is
Jirayat and Part of land is Bagayat. Particulars as
to how much land was jirayat and how much bagayat,
were not given. According to the claimants the land
which remained with them after acquisition was
Jirayat land. This is a general statement made by
the claimants. Claimants have not specified as to
how much land was Bagayat and how much land was
Jirayat and there is no document to support this
contention. Therefore, in the absence of any
evidence in that regard, half of the acquired land
can be considered as Bagayat and the remaining half
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as Jirayat.
6. If as per the sale deed dated 1.6.1982,
Rs.16,600/- was price of Jirayat land then
compensation for Bagayat land can be determined at
one half times and it would come to Rs.24,900/- per
hectare. The claimants will be entitled to
compensation on that rate in respect of the half of
the acquired land and for the remaining half would
be entitled to Rs.16,600/- per hectare as Jirayat
land. Therefore, this appeal is to be partly
allowed. Hence, order :
ORDER
. Appeal is partly allowed.
. Claimants - Respondents will be entitled to
Rs.16,600/- per hectare as compensation for half of
the acquired land, and at Rs.24,900/- for the
remaining half of the acquired land. Statutory
benefits shall be reduced in that proportion. No
order as to costs.
20.04.2005 (D.G. DESHPANDE, J.)
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the reference court's award of Rs.30,000 per hectare compensation warrants enhancement or correction based on sale deed rates.
How to apportion compensation between Bagayat and Jirayat land portions in the absence of specific area breakdown.
The State of Maharashtra
Biru Sayappa Sagar & Ors.
D. G. DESHPANDE
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court