Compensation award based on accepted previous awards for contiguous land in similar acquisition projects is sustainable.

The appellant-State filed these First Appeals under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, challenging a common judgment and award passed in Land Reference Case Nos. 10 to 15 of 2022, whereby the Reference Court assessed the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr.

The land, situated at Village Galiyadanti, Taluka Malpur, District Sabarkantha, was acquired for the public purpose of constructing four-lane Highway No. 5 from Shamlaji to Godhara; notifications under Sections 4 and 6 were published on 23.01.2008 and 05.08.2008 respectively.

The Special Land Acquisition Officer passed an award under Section 11 on 24.05.2010, awarding compensation at only Rs. 6.85/- per sq. mtr. for open land.

The claimants sought a reference under Section 18 claiming Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr., which the Reference Court allowed in full, granting compensation at that rate inclusive of the SLAO's award, along with statutory benefits and interest.

1. Whether the learned Reference Court erred in relying on Exhibits 5 & 33 (awards from an earlier project) to fix compensation, given the appellant-State's contention that the strata of the lands in the two projects were entirely different and could not be equated.

2. Whether compensation at Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr. was justified on the basis of parity, where the acquired lands lay in adjoining/contiguous villages, were acquired for the same public purpose, and were covered by Section 4 and 6 notifications issued in the same year (2008).

The Court primarily applied Sections 4, 6, 11, 18, and 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, governing acquisition, award, reference, and appeal respectively.

The market value of acquired land may be determined by reference to compensation fixed for similarly situated lands—lands in adjoining villages, acquired for an identical public purpose, under notifications of the same year—as adopted in the judgment and award in LAR Nos. 176 to 189 of 2017 & 193 of 2017 (Village Ambaliya, Taluka Malpur), where compensation was fixed at Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr. under 2008 notifications.

First Appeal No. 4476 of 2024 and allied matters challenging the Ambaliya awards having been dismissed by this Court by order dated 27.7.2026.

Rejecting the AGP's "different strata" objection, the Court noted that Village Galiyadanti is approximately 9.7 km from Village Ambaliya, that the purpose of acquisition in all villages was identical—construction of the Godhra–Shamlaji highway—and that all the villages are adjoining with contiguous boundaries.

Crucially, the Section 4 and 6 notifications in the present acquisition were published in 2008, exactly as in LAR Nos. 176 to 189 of 2017 & 193 of 2017.

Since the State had accepted (and unsuccessfully challenged) the Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr. rate awarded for the same project, same notification year, and adjoining locality, the Court held that the Reference Court committed no error in fixing total compensation at Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr.; the learned AGP failed to point out any valid reason to interfere with the impugned common judgment and award.

The First Appeals were dismissed and the impugned common judgment and award fixing compensation at Rs. 1,000/- per sq. mtr. was upheld; interim relief, if any, stood vacated, and the record and proceedings were directed to be sent back.

The Reference Court was directed to disburse the remaining compensation to the claimants in accordance with settled procedure after deducting court fees, if any.

The connected Civil Applications for stay were disposed of as not surviving... the applicants were joined as party respondents since their names appeared in the impugned award itself—and the Reference Court was directed to disburse compensation to each claimant, including the applicants.