Gujarat HC Sets Aside Bagdu Land Compensation Awards, Sends Cases Back To Recheck Irrigation Status

Landowners of Bagdu village appealed awards of the Principal Senior Civil Judge, Junagadh, which granted additional compensation of ₹25.11 per sq. m. for irrigated (Bagayati) land and ₹18.17 per sq. m. for non-irrigated (Jirayati) land.

The appellants contended that their acquired lands were irrigated but had been treated as non-irrigated; the State maintained that the Section 4 notification identified the acquired lands as non-irrigated.

The Court noted that the Reference Court’s award had assessed compensation for both categories.

Whether the Reference Court’s awards required reconsideration because the acquired lands’ irrigated or non-irrigated status was disputed.

Whether the matters should be remanded for the Reference Court to determine the classification of the acquired lands and reassess additional compensation accordingly.

The judgment identifies no specific statutory provision as the basis for its decision.

It relied on the Division Bench decision in First Appeal No. 1257 of 2015 and allied matters, which the Court considered relevant to remanding matters involving similar circumstances; the judgment does not set out that decision’s ratio in further detail.

The Court also referred to the Reference Court’s assessment of compensation for both Bagayati and Jirayati lands as relevant to determining the acquired lands’ classification.

The Court reasoned that if all acquired lands were non-irrigated, there would have been no need for the Reference Court to determine compensation for irrigated lands as well.

Given the dispute over classification and the cited Division Bench decision, the Court concluded that the awards should be reconsidered on the evidence, with the Reference Court identifying how many acquired lands fell into each category before determining compensation.

The parties may produce additional evidence; any amount yet to be disbursed must remain invested in FDRs pending the Reference Court’s decision, and disbursement is subject to that decision.