Comparable land sales and contemporaneous acquisitions justified compensation enhancement without arbitrary depreciation in market value assessment.

Acquired land valuation was fixed by reference to reliable exemplar evidence and comparable adjoining village acquisitions covered by contemporaneous notification, and the Court accepted the earlier benchmark as the proper basis. It held that no arbitrary yearly depreciation could be applied where the relevant sale exemplars already pre-dated the first notification governing the acquisition, and there was no legally acceptable material for a further downward adjustment. The compensation rate was therefore enhanced to Rs.50,000 per bigha, while any claim for enhancement beyond that figure was rejected and the High Court's approach was otherwise maintained.

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Issues: Whether the compensation for acquired land warranted further enhancement from Rs.42,000/- per bigha, and whether any deduction on account of depreciation was justified while determining market value.

Analysis: The acquisition related to adjoining village lands notified in the same period, and the market value had to be assessed with reference to reliable exemplar evidence and earlier comparable judicial determinations. The earlier valuation relied on by the High Court had itself been fixed on the basis of sale deeds predating the relevant notification, and the lands in question were part of a contiguous acquisition for the same public purpose. In those circumstances, the adoption of the earlier benchmark was justified, but there was no basis to further reduce that value by applying a yearly depreciation factor, since the exemplar transactions were already prior to the first notification governing the present acquisition.

Conclusion: The Court held that the land value should be enhanced to Rs.50,000/- per bigha and not Rs.42,000/- per bigha, and rejected any claim for enhancement beyond that figure.

Final Conclusion: The appeals succeeded only to the limited extent of increasing the compensation rate, while the rest of the valuation approach of the High Court was maintained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where acquired lands are comparable to adjoining village lands covered by contemporaneous notification and reliable pre-notification sale exemplars exist, market value should be fixed on that basis without arbitrary depreciation where no legally acceptable material supports a further downward adjustment.

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