T Kumaraswamy Vs the Special Land — Land Acquisition | Karnataka HC (2026)

T Kumaraswamy Vs the Special Land — Land Acquisition | Karnataka HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Appeal allowed-in-part with costs; impugned judgment and award dated 14.07.2009 in LAC No.96/2003 modified — appellants awarded compensation at Rs.150/- per sq. ft. (on parity with Sri.G.C.Sharanappa, MFA.No.3364/2012 dtd 13.01.2020) for lands measuring 6982.80 sq. meters in Sy.No.125 of Sominakoppa Village, Kasaba Hobli, Shimoga Taluk, with all statutory benefits and interest as per law; however, no interest for the delayed period of 1990 days in filing the appeal, as per order dated 13.03.2020.

Issue for consideration

Whether the appellants (legal representatives of the deceased claimant) are entitled to compensation higher than the Rs.400/- per sq. meter fixed by the Reference Court, specifically at Rs.150/- per sq. ft. on parity with the award in Sri.G.C.Sharanappa (MFA.No.3364/2012 dtd 13.01.2020) for land in the same village acquired under the same notification for the same purpose. +1 more

Court's answer

The land in the cited case (Sri.G.C.Sharanappa) and the land in the instant case were acquired under the same notification, for the same purpose, and are from the same village; it would be unjust and inequitable to treat the appellants dissimilarly in the matter of compensation.

Ratio / Principle

The appellants are entitled to the same rate of compensation as awarded in the earlier case (Sri.G.C.Sharanappa), i.e., Rs.150/- per square feet.

Key takeaways

The appeal is allowed-in-part with costs.ratio¶60
The impugned judgment and award is modified: the appellants are entitled to compensation at Rs.150/- per sq. ft. for the lands measuring 6982.80 sq. meters in Sy.No.125 of Sominakoppa Village, Kasaba Hobli, Shimoga Taluk, with all statutory benefits and interest as per law.ratio¶61
The appellants are not entitled to interest for the delayed period of 1990 days in filing the appeal, as per the order dated 13.03.2020.ratio

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Karnataka HC (DB: Anu Sivaraman and Vijaykumar A. Patil JJ.; oral judgment per Patil J), 09.02.2026 — M.F.A. No.2435/2015 (LAC) filed u/s 54(1) of the Land Acquisition Act. The claimant's land measuring 6982.80 sq. meters in Sy.No.125 of Sominakoppa Village, Kasaba Hobli, Shimoga Taluk was acquired for the Upper Thunga Project (preliminary notification 11.09.1997; final notification 08.01.1999); the SLAO fixed market value at Rs.150/- per sq. meter by award dated 09.05.2000 and possession was taken on 16.10.2000. The Reference Court (I Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) and CJM, Shimoga), by judgment and award dated 14.07.2009 in LAC No.96/2003, enhanced compensation to Rs.400/- per sq. meter with statutory benefits. The claimant having died, his legal representatives appealed for higher compensation, invoking parity with Sri.G.C.Sharanappa v. The Special Land Acquisition Officer, Upper Thunga and Another (MFA.No.3364/2012 and connected matters dtd 13.01.2020), wherein Rs.150/- per sq. ft. was awarded for land from the same village acquired under the same notification for the same purpose. Held: where lands are acquired under the same notification, for the same purpose and from the same village, it is unjust and inequitable to treat the claimants dissimilarly in the matter of compensation; the appellants were held entitled to the same rate of Rs.150/- per sq. ft. with all statutory benefits and interest as per law. Appeal allowed-in-part with costs; impugned judgment and award modified accordingly; the appellants were denied interest for the delayed period of 1990 days in filing the appeal as per the order dated 13.03.2020.