Partly allowed

State of Kerala v. Sheela John

Kerala HC28 Jan 2014LA.App./458/2013

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The Kerala High Court partly allowed a land acquisition appeal against a reference court's award of Rs.30 lakhs per Are. Relying on a connected judgment (L.A.A.No.1108/2010), the court re-fixed the land value at Rs.22 lakhs per Are, modifying the impugned order to align with legal consistency.

What did the court decide?

The reference court's judgment and decree are modified to fix the land value at Rs.22 lakhs per Are.

State of Kerala Vs Sheela John — Land Acquisition | Kerala HC (2014)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT:

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THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE HARUN-UL-RASHID &

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS

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TUESDAY, THE 28TH DAY OF JANUARY 2014/8TH MAGHA, 1935

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LA.App..No. 458 of 2013 ()

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AGAINST THE JUDGMENT IN LAR 407/2008 of II ADDL.SUB COURT, TRIVANDRUM DATED 03-03-2009

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APPELLANT/1ST RESPONDENT:

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STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.

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BY ADV. GOVERNMENT PLEADER, SMT.P.A.RAZIYA

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RESPONDENTS/CLAIMANT & 2ND RESPONDENT:

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1. SHEELA JOHN HOUSE NO.36, TVS GARDEN, N.V.NAGAR PEROORKADA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM- 695013

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2. THE SECRETARY

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY THIRUVANANTHAPURAM- 695001

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R2 BY ADV. SRI.K.A.JALEEL, SC., TRIDA R. BY ADV. SRI.LAL GEORGE

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THIS LAND ACQUISITION APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 28-01-2014, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

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HARUN-UL-RASHID & ALEXANDER THOMAS, JJ.

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L.A.A.No.458 OF 2013

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Dated this the 28^th day of January, 2014

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J U D G M E N T

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~~~~~~~~~~~

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Harun-ul-Rashid, J.

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State of Kerala is the appellant. Appeal is filed against the judgment in L.A.R.No.407 of 2008 on the file of the II^nd Additional Sub Court, Thiruvananthapuram.

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Heard the learned counsel for the appellant and first respondent. An extent of 0.26 Ares of land comprised in Survey No.3638/2-3-1, 3638/2-4 and 3638/2-5-1 of Kowdiar Village in Thiruvananthapuram Taluk was acquired for widening Pattom-Kowdiar Road. Section 4(1) notification was published on 30.10.2004. The Land Acquisition Officer fixed the land value at Rs.2,13,407/- per Are. The Reference court re-fixed the land value at Rs.30,00,000/- per Are.

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The learned Government Pleader contented that the land value re-fixed by the reference court is not fair and reasonable that the enhancement awarded by the court below is not based on any data and without any cogent evidence and therefore does not reflect the real market value of the land at

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L.A.A.458/2013

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the time of notification. The learned Government Pleader also contended that the Land Acquisition Officer, after a detailed comparison of the adjoining lands and the documents, have arrived at a correct market value of the land and hence the reference court was not justified in enhancing the market value without sufficient evidence.

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L.A.R.No.405/2008 is on the file of the same court. The purpose of acquisition is same and the date of 4(1) notification is also the same. Land Acquisition Officer awarded the same land value. The reference court granted enhancement and re-fixed the land value as Rs.30 lakhs per Are. This was challenged by the State in L.A.A.No.1108/2010. This Court along with several other connected cases partly allowed the appeal and re-fixed land value at Rs.22 lakhs per Are. In the light of the judgment dated 18^th August, 2011 in L.A.A.No.1108/2010 and other connected cases the 1^st respondent/claimant in the present case is also entitled to the land value as fixed by the court in the connected cases.

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Accordingly, the appeal is partly allowed. We fixed the value of the land for acquisition at Rs. 22 lakhs per Are. The

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L.A.A.458/2013

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judgment and decree passed by the reference court is modified

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to the said extent.

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HARUN-UL-RASHID, JUDGE.

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ALEXANDER THOMAS, JUDGE.

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ps/29/1/14

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//True copy//

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PA to Judge

State of Kerala v. Sheela John

Case brief

What is this about?

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State of Kerala v. Sheela John

Case brief

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