Comparable acquisition awards justify enhancing compensation to Rs.50 per square metre for similarly situated lands.

The appellants were landowners whose lands in Village Valan, Taluka Karjan, District Vadodara, were acquired for construction of the Dora Visakha Canal under the Narmada Yojana.

The Section 4 notification was published on 30 March 1995 and the Section 6 notification on 6 June 1996. The Special Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at Rs.5.14 per square metre by award dated 17 October 1996 in L.A.Q. Case No.107 of 1994.

On references under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the Reference Court awarded an additional Rs.17.36 per square metre, fixing the total compensation at Rs.22.50 per square metre.

The landowners appealed under Section 54 seeking further enhancement, relying on a decision concerning acquisition of land in the same village for a similar canal project, where compensation had been fixed at Rs.50 per square metre.

Whether the appellants were entitled to enhancement of compensation beyond Rs.22.50 per square metre on the basis of the decision in First Appeal No.2359 of 2013 and allied matters concerning comparable lands in Village Valan.

Whether the compensation payable for the acquired lands should be fixed at Rs.50 per square metre, together with statutory interest and other statutory benefits.

The Court applied Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, governing appeals from an award of a Reference Court.

It relied on the principle that compensation should be assessed consistently with prior judicial determinations concerning comparable lands, particularly where the lands are situated in the same village, acquired for a similar public project, and possess comparable potentiality and viability.

The Court followed the coordinate Bench decision in First Appeal No.2359 of 2013 and allied matters dated 9 October 2025, which fixed compensation for lands in Village Valan acquired for the Valan Prasakha Canal at Rs.50 per square metre, after considering the comparable valuation of lands in adjoining Village Ikhar and rejecting reliance on the more distant Village Dethan.

The enhanced compensation was directed to carry statutory interest at 9% per annum from the date of taking possession for one year and thereafter at 15% per annum until realization, along with other statutory benefits.

The Court found the present acquisition materially comparable to the acquisition considered in the coordinate Bench decision: both concerned lands in Village Valan, District Vadodara, acquired under the Narmada Yojana for canal construction, with similar proceedings before the Special Land Acquisition Officer and the Reference Court.

The Court also considered the relevant factors of potentiality and viability and noted that, although the Section 4 notifications were issued at different times, the present notification preceded the comparable acquisition by approximately eight months.

Since the coordinate Bench had already determined the appropriate market value for comparable lands at Rs.50 per square metre, the Court held that the appellants should receive equivalent treatment.

The further enhancement of Rs.27.50 per square metre was therefore added to the amounts already awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer and the Reference Court.

The enhanced amount was made payable with statutory interest at 9% per annum from the date of taking possession for one year and thereafter at 15% per annum until realization, along with other statutory benefits.

The State was directed to deposit the additional compensation before the Reference Court within sixteen weeks, after which the Reference Court was to verify entitlement and disburse the amount to the claimants, subject to deduction of applicable court fees.