P&H HC Raises Gohana Compensation To ₹45.92 Lakh/Acre, Treats Late Section 18 Claims Filed During Pending References As Section 28A Applications

The State acquired 137.96 acres in Gohana, Garhi Ujalekhan and Garhi Namdarkhan for development of residential Sector-16, Gohana. The Section 4 notification was issued on 28 May 2010, followed by a Section 6 notification on 27 May 2011.

The Land Acquisition Collector awarded compensation at ₹40 lakh per acre; the Reference Court upheld that rate. The landowners appealed, seeking enhancement, while the State opposed enhancement.

The principal pre-notification exemplar relied on by the High Court, sale deed Ex.P-3, dated 12 January 2009, concerned 390 square yards forming part of the acquired land and reflected a rate of ₹53.24 lakh per acre.

The appeals arose under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and concerned the determination of market value under Section 23.

The Court treated sale deeds executed after the Section 4 notification as unavailable for valuation where sale deeds executed on or before that notification were available.

It applied the principle that a small parcel may command a higher rate than a larger acquired tract and may therefore warrant a size cut; it also referred to the Supreme Court’s approval of 12% annual escalation, without identifying a particular precedent.

Sections 18 and 28A were considered in light of their shared purpose of securing just and equal compensation: the Court held that a delayed Section 18 application could, in the circumstances, be considered indirectly as an application under Section 28A.

The Court excluded the post-notification sale deeds because pre-notification deeds were available, and rejected other pre-notification exemplars as distant or involving very small plots in the municipal area.

It relied on Ex.P-3 because it was executed before the Section 4 notification and covered land forming part of the acquisition. Applying 12% annual escalation for the approximately 15-month interval between the deed and notification produced a value of ₹61,22,600 per acre.

Although the Court found no basis for a development cut, it imposed a 25% size cut because Ex.P-3 concerned a small parcel, reducing the market value to ₹45,91,950 per acre, rounded to ₹45,92,000.

As to the delayed reference, the Court considered that the landowner could have pursued Section 28A relief and concluded that denying the same enhanced compensation granted to other landowners would be hyper-technical.

It rejected the State’s objection concerning the delayed reference in RFA-977-2020, treating the application in the circumstances as capable of consideration under Section 28A.

Pending applications, if any, were also disposed of.