Research › Search › Judgment

Delhi High Court · body

2001 DAILYLAW 1578 (DEL)

D. L. F. UNIVERSAL LIMITED v. UNION OF INDIA

2001-08-20

Madan B Lokur

body2001
Delhi High Court (August 20, 2001) 2001 (TLS)125431 2001-DLT-93-832 :: 2001-AD (Del)-6-264 D. L. F. UNIVERSAL LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA MADAN B. LOKUR ( 1 ) THE Appellant Is aggrieved by the Judgement and order dated 15th March. 1979 passed by a learned Single judge of this Court in R. F. A No. 169 of 1975. By the impugned order, the learned Judge-declined to enhance the compensation awarded to the Appellant by the learned additional District Judge. ( 2 ) A notification, dated 24th October, 1961 was issued under Section of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ( the Act) intending to acquire land belonging to the Appellant situated in a trans-Yamuna colony known ad Diishad Garden. ( 3 ) ON 26th October, 1968, a declaration was issued under section 6 of the Act acquiring the land in question. In subsequent proceedings, the Land Acquisition Collector passed an Award being Award NO. 8/69. On a reference under section 18 of the Act, the learned Additional District Judge by his Judgment dated 11th February. 1975 allowed an increase over the amount awarded by the Land Acquisition collector. He held that there were six categories of land and the compensation awarded for each category was as follows :- residential : Rs. 12,000/- per bigha Rs. 13,000/- per bigha commercials Rs. 13. 000/- per bigha rs. 16 ,000/- per bigha rs. l7. 000/- per bigha cinema : Rs. 30,000/- per bigha the difference in the amounts awarded depended upon the size of the plots-acquired. ( 4 ) THE Appellant then preferred R. F. A. No. 169 of 1975 for Further enhancement of the compensation which as mentioned earlier, was declined by a learned Single Judge of this Court. ( 5 ) LEARNED counsel for the Appellant has brought to our notice that the dispute regarding the amount of compensation to be awarded is now no longer res Integra. ( 6 ) THE first such decision pertaining to the same notifications and the same Award appears to have been rendered by a Division Bench of this Court in Union of India v. Justice Shamsher Bahadur, ILR (1974) II Delhi 565. For a residential plot of land, the Division Bench enhanced the compensation from Rs. 12,000/- per bigha awarded by the learned Additional District Judge to Rs. 16,000/- per bigha. For a residential plot of land, the Division Bench enhanced the compensation from Rs. 12,000/- per bigha awarded by the learned Additional District Judge to Rs. 16,000/- per bigha. ( 7 ) THIS decision was subsequently followed by another division Bench in Maya Devi (deceased) through Lrs. v. Union of India and Anr. , R. F. A. No. 10 of 1975 decided on 16th december. 1999. ( 8 ) THEREAFTER the same view was adhered to in Raj kumar v. Union of India, R. F. A. No. 462 of 1985 decided on 14th August, 2000. ( 9 ) FOLLOWING these decisions rendered by various division Benches of this Court, there is no option but to hold that for residential plot the Appellant is entitled to an amount of Rs. 16,000/- per bigha instead of the amount of rs. 12,000/- per bigha awarded by the learned Additional district Judge. There will also, necessarily, have to be a proportionate increase in respect of the other categories of land. This will now be as under:- residontial : rs. 16,000/- per bigha instead of Rs. 12,000/- rs. 17,000/- per bigha instead of Rs. 13,000/- commorcial : rs. 17,000/- per bigha instead of Rs. 13. 000/- rs. 20,000/- per bigha instead of Rs. l6,000/- rs. 21,000/- per bigha Instead of Rs. 17,000/- the learned Single Judge was of the view that so far as the cinema was concerned, the learned Additional district Judge was Justified in doubting the amount of compensation as awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector. We find that the Land Acquisition Collector had himself granted a little more than double the residential rate for the cinema. Following this basis the Appellant would be entitled to a little more than double the residential rate per bigha as now determined by us. Consequently, the appellant would be entitled to an amount between Rs. 32,000/- per bigha and Rs. 34,000/- per bigha. raking the mean of those two figures, we determine the compensation to be rs. 33,000/- per bigha for the cinema. ( 10 ) ACCORDINGLY, we allow the appeal with proportionate costs and hold that the Appellant is entitled to compensation as determined by us as above. Over and above the amount of compensation, the Appellant will be entitled to interest and solatium as per the decision of the learned additional District Judge. --- *** --- .