Are solatium and the additional amount under the Act of 1894 payable only on the market value determined under Section 23(1) First Clause?
Coram: Justice Dipankar Datta · Justice Sheel Nagu
Solatium and the additional amount under the Act of 1894 are payable only on the market value determined under Section 23(1) First Clause.
Yes. Additional interest under Section 23(1A) and solatium under Section 23(2) of the Act of 1894 relate strictly to the market value of the land determined under Section 23(1) First Clause; standing trees fall under the second factor, severance damages under the third and tubewells or kothas under the fourth or fifth, and these are separate auxiliary heads strictly excluded from statutory solatium and additional interest by the ratio in Amarjit Singh. The High Court's denial of these benefits on trees, severance, tubewells and structures was affirmed.
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — s.23(1) — s.23(1A) — s.23(2) — Market value — Contiguous tracts — Severance damage — Solatium — Pleadings — Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — s.23(1) First — Market value — Contiguous tracts — Non-discriminatory compensation — Held: Contiguous tracts of land acquired for a unified public purpose under the same scheme must be awarded consistent, non-discriminatory compensation; a radial step-down model that ignores transaction-based local evidence is arbitrary, and the uniform market value stands restored. (¶5) Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — s.23(1) Thirdly — Severance damage — Remaining unacquired land — Held further: Severance damage compensates the diminution in value of the unacquired remaining land and is calculated on its market value, not on the acquired land; a rule of thumb based on distance from the village abadi that ignores the physical barrier is unsustainable. (¶7) Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — s.23(1A) — s.23(2) — Solatium — Auxiliary assets — Held further: Solatium and the additional amount are payable only on the market value determined under Section 23(1) First Clause, not on damages for trees, severance, tubewells or structures under the second to sixth factors. (¶8, 9) Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — s.18 — Reference petition — Evidence beyond pleadings — Held further: A reference petition strictly defines the dispute and evidence cannot be led beyond pleadings, so tree compensation is restricted to the trees pleaded. Appeals disposed of with market value and severance charges restored. (¶6, 11)
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