Principle of parity prevents State from challenging land acquisition awards previously accepted for similarly situated claimants.

The State of Gujarat acquired land in Halol Taluka for widening Highway No. 5 (Bodeli-Halol-Godhra). The Section 4 notification was published on 06/04/2000, and the Section 6 notification on 14/11/2000

The Special Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at ₹7.20 per sq. mtr. on 16/03/2001

Dissatisfied, the claimants sought a reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, claiming ₹300 per sq. mtr.

The Reference Court, relying on a previous award in LAR Case No. 2/1998 for identical land (where Section 4 was notified in 1994), awarded a total of ₹155 per sq. mtr.

Both the State (alleging excess) and the claimants (seeking further enhancement) appealed the Refence Court’s decision

1. Whether the State can challenge specific awards in a common judgment while accepting others from the same judgment

2. Whether the claimants are entitled to an enhanced compensation based on the time gap between the current notification and the precedent-setting notification of 1994

The court applied the principle of non-discrimination as established in Shivappa v. Chief Engineer, which prohibits the State from "picking and choosing" which awards to challenge when they arise from a common reference

Regarding valuation, the court applied the doctrine of comparison and the principle of awarding an annual increase for time-lagged notifications, specifically relying on Central Warehousing Corporation v. Thakur Dwara Kalan Ul-Maruf Barglan Wala, which permits an 8% annual increase with cumulative effect when the gap between notifications exceeds five years

The court first dismissed the State’s appeals, noting that the State had accepted the awards for LAR Nos. 96, 97, and 99 of 2000, which were part of the same common judgment; thus, challenging LAR Nos. 98 and 100 constituted "patent discrimination"

Regarding the claimants' cross-objections, the court observed a 5.5-year gap between the Section 4 notification in the base case (LAR 2/1998, notified 20/10/1994) and the present case (notified 06/04/2000)

Applying an 8% annual price rise to the previous base rate of ₹115 per sq. mtr. resulted in a yearly increase of ₹9.20. Over 5.5 years, this amounted to an enhancement of ₹50.60, bringing the total justifiable compensation to ₹165.60 per sq. mtr.

It partially allowed the claimants' appeals and cross-objections, enhancing the total compensation from ₹154.20 to ₹165.60 per sq. mtr.

The court directed the State to deposit the additional ₹11.40 per sq. mtr. with all statutory benefits within 12 weeks, subject to the recovery of court fees