1987 PLP 3212 (MLD)

S.18--Compensation Determination of amount Appellant not accepting award made by Land Acquisition Collector at rate of Rs.600 per kanal of land and matter reaching trial Court for determination of compensation--Trial Court not-, favourably impressed by appellant's evidence for increasing quantum of compensation and dismissing his application--High Court in another case had determined compensation in respect of two pieces of land, being subject-matter of that case, and awarded compensation at Rs.3,600 and Rs.4,000--Land in dispute lying in same, local area and was in no way inferior to either of those pieces of land--Value of land in dispute ordered to be assessed at Rs.3,600 plus compulsory acquisition charges and interest on total amount of compensation. Muhammad Yaqoob Sidhu for Appellant. Sheikh Abdul Majid for Respondents. Date of hearing: 5th October, 1987.' ABAID ULLAH KHAN, J.--This appeal against the judgment of the learned Civil Judge, Lahore, dated the 22nd September, 1983, dismissing the reference made at the instance of the appellant for enhancement of the amount of compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector, Lahore, for compulsory acquisition of the appellant's land, arises out of the following circumstances. 94 kanals 5 marlas of land lying in the area of village Charar, tehsil and district Lahore, of which 34 kanals 15 marlas of nehri land in dispute forms a part, was acquired by the Government for the construction of a drain. Notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was published in the official gazette on the 24th June, 1966. The land in question once constituted' evacuee property and was allotted to the appellant on the 30th June, 1972. Though the appellant put forth demand of compensation at the rate of Rs.4,000.00 per kanal before the Land Acquisition Collector, the latter, by his award announced on the 17th July, 1978, assessed the value of the disputed land at the rate of Rs.600.00 per kanal. Apart from allowing 15 per cent compulsory acquisition charges the Collector, as required by section 34 of the Land Acquisition Act, directed payment of compound interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum on the amount of compensation which the appellant was to get under the award, from the 30th June, 1972 (when the land was allotted to the appellant), to the 17th July, 1978 (it is not on the record that the amount of compensation was paid by the Government earlier). He did not consider the appellant to be entitled to receive interest from the 30th April, 1963 (when the possession of the land was taken over by the Government), because he had no interest in the land prior to the 30th June, 1972, the date of allotment in his favour. 2. The appellant, having not accepted the award from describing the compensation assessed by the Collector to be inadequate, moved the Collector for referring the matter to the Court for determination of the correct amount of compensation. He averred that the land was bounded by Lahore Airport, Packages Factory, R . A . Bazar and Officers Colony of Lahore Cantonment and its value was not less than Rs.8,000.00 per kanal. He pointed out that the Collector of Lahore District had worked out the value of the land at the rate of Rs.1,603.00 per kanal but the Land Acquisition Collector had ignored to take it into account for no valid reason and contended that his estimation of the market value was not based on legal and proper considerations. The Government stuck to its stand that the market value of the land was no more than Rs.600.00 per kanal. The learned trial Court was not favourably impressed by the appellant's evidence for increasing the quantum of compensation and dismissed his application. 3. It is surprising that the learned trial Court did not pay any attention to the judgment of this Court delivered in R.F.A. No.88 of 1970, Abdul Qayyum Malik v. Land Acquisition Collector, Lahore (which also disposed of R.F.A. No 96 of 1970), whose copy was placed on the record as Exh P.5, determining compensation in respect of land lying in the contiguous village of Sehajpal, which had been acquired for the extension of Lahore Airport pursuant to the notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act published on 1st May, 1968, a the rate of Rs.3,600.00 per kanal in R.F.A. No 88 and at the rate of Rs.4,000.00 per kanal in R.F.A. No 96 of 1970. The land in dispute lay in the same local area where lands forming subject-matter of R.F.As. Nos.88 and 96 of 1970 lay and it was in no way inferior to either of them. There was no appreciable difference between the prices obtaining there on the 24th June,1966 and the 1st May,1968, when the notifications under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act in the two cases were published. There is no reason to evaluate the appellant's land differently. It would be fair to determine the value of the land in question at the rate of Rs.3,600.00 per kanal for ascertaining the compensation payable to the appellant. Accordingly the appeal is accepted with costs throughout, the judgment of the learned trial Court is set aside and it is directed that the amount of compensation payable to the appellant will be worked out on the basis of the value of the land in dispute at the rate of Rs.3,600.00 per kanal. Of course the appellant will be paid 15 per cent compulsory acquisition charges as well as compound interest on the total amount of compensation at the rate of 8 per cent per annum from the 30th June, 1972, to the 17th July,1978. M. Y.H./M-456/L Appeal accepted.