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Issues: (i) Whether the High Court could restore and treat as operative a judgment earlier set aside in remand proceedings instead of independently disposing of the appeals according to the appellate directions; (ii) whether the compensation for the acquired lands required enhancement on the material on record.
Issue (i): Whether the High Court could restore and treat as operative a judgment earlier set aside in remand proceedings instead of independently disposing of the appeals according to the appellate directions.
Analysis: The appellate directions were binding and had to be obeyed in letter and spirit. Once the earlier High Court judgment had been set aside, it had no legal existence and could not be resurrected by the High Court as the operative decision after remand. If no additional evidence was forthcoming, the proper course was to decide the appeals afresh on the existing record and not to revive a judgment already rendered ineffective by the superior court's order.
Conclusion: The High Court acted without jurisdiction in restoring the earlier set-aside judgment, and that course was impermissible in law.
Issue (ii): Whether the compensation for the acquired lands required enhancement on the material on record.
Analysis: The lands formed part of a developed and potentially valuable tract of Aurangabad. Comparable sale instances, the location of the lands near important landmarks, the urban character of the area, and the similarity of the acquired lands supported a higher valuation than that adopted by the acquiring authority. For large acquisitions, small transactions cannot be treated as exact guides, but they may assist when adjusted for the nature and extent of the land. Keeping the overall evidence and the compulsory nature of acquisition in view, a fair market rate had to be fixed with statutory solatium and interest.
Conclusion: The compensation was enhanced to Rs. 1.50 per square yard, with statutory solatium and interest as directed.
Final Conclusion: The appeals succeeded and the claimants obtained enhancement of compensation, while the High Court's approach after remand was held to be legally unsustainable.
Ratio Decidendi: A subordinate court must strictly comply with appellate directions, cannot revive a judgment already set aside, and in land acquisition matters compensation must be fixed on a fair market value assessment drawn from the whole record, including location, potential value, and comparable sales.
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