The Bombay High Court, Aurangabad Bench, has partly allowed a batch of appeals filed by landowners from Dhalegaon village in Latur district, enhancing the compensation awarded for agricultural lands acquired for the construction of a percolation tank. Justice Sanjay A. Deshmukh held that the Reference Court erred in treating the acquired lands as dry lands and failed to properly appreciate the sale deed indicating irrigation facilities.
The case arose from the acquisition of agricultural lands pursuant to a notification issued in January 1988. The Land Acquisition Officer had initially awarded compensation at ₹16,500 per hectare, which was later enhanced by the Reference Court to ₹25,000 per hectare. Dissatisfied with the enhancement, the claimants approached the High Court seeking a further increase.
The Court held that the Reference Court erred in treating the acquired lands as dry lands and in discarding the sale instance on technical grounds. It held that strict standards of proof under the Evidence Act cannot be insisted upon in land acquisition cases, particularly when agriculturists from weaker sections are involved.
The Court further held that the existence of wells and a lake, as reflected in the 7/12 extracts, was sufficient to establish that the lands were irrigated, and that a sale deed from a nearby village could be relied upon even without examining the vendor or purchaser, applying the principle of preponderance of probability.
Accordingly, the Court enhanced the compensation payable to the claimants by fixing the market value at ₹1,199 per Are, along with statutory benefits.
The enhanced compensation has been directed to be deposited within twelve weeks.
Appearances
Mr. V. D. Gunale, Advocate for Appellant/s in respective appeals
Mr. Virendra V. Jahagirdar, AGP for Respondents/State in respective appeals
