TMI Blog1994 (10) TMI 302X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or improvement scheme and that the Board shall frame such a scheme when so directed by the State Government. Section 17 prescribes the matters which are required to be provided for such schemes. Sub-section (1) of Section 28 makes provision of preparation of a notice by the Board when any housing or improvement scheme has been framed and the said notice is required to be published in the manner as prescribed in sub-section (2) of Section 28. Section 30 makes provision for filing of objections against the scheme and section 31 provides for sanction of the scheme, with or without modifications, after considering the objections, if any, received under Section 30. Such sanction is to be given by the Board when the estimates cost of the schemes does not exceed ₹ 20,00,000 and by the State Government where the estimated costs exceeds that amount. Sub-section (1) of Section 32 provides that whenever the Board or the State Government sanctions a housing or improvement scheme, it shall be notified in the Gazette and sub-section (2) lays down that the notification under sub-section (1) in respect of any scheme shall be conclusive evidence that the scheme has been duly framed and sancti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r the purposes of the U.P. Act and such land shall thereupon vest absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances. (e) Section 17-A has been added whereby it has been provided that in every case referred to in Section 16 or Section 17, the Collector shall upon payment of the cost of acquisition make over charge of the land to the Housing Commissioner, or an officer authorised in this behalf under the U.P. Act and the land shall, thereupon vest in the board subject to the liability of the Board to pay any further costs which may be incurred on account of its acquisition. The Board framed a scheme known as the Trans-Yamuna Housing Accommodation Scheme and notice under Section 28 of the U.P. Act in respect of the said scheme (analogous to a notification under section 4(1) of the L.A. Act) was published on January 31, 1970 and the notification under Section 32 of the U.P. Act (analogous to declaration under Section 6 of the LA. Act) was published on August 21, 1974. The Special Land Acquisition Officer made an award on April 15, 1978, wherein amount of compensation was fixed by adopting belting system . The land under acquisition was divided in three belts and bye-pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ibunal or in the appeals before the High Court. On September 9/10, 1991, the Board filed review petitions in the High Court for the review of the judgment dated April 18, 1991 in First Appeals Nos. 586, 587 and 641 of 1985 and the delay in filing of the said review petitions was explained on the ground that the Board become aware of the decision of the High Court only on August 19, 1991 when the then Legal Advisor of the Board read the said judgment of the High Court in the law reports. The said review petitions were dismissed by the High Court by order dated January 20, 1993 on the ground of delay and for want of paying proper court fees Appeals arising out of S.L.P. (C) Nos. 15085/93, 15057/93 and 13858/93 have been filed by the Board against the said order of the High Court. The Board has also filed applications for being impleaded as a party in the appeals filed by the land owners in this Court. The question which needs to be determined is whether the L.A. Act confers any right on the Board to participate at the stage of determination of compensation for the land which is sought to be acquired under Section 55 of the U.P. Act read with the provisions of the L.A. Act, as modifie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... there were administrative instructions requiring preliminary valuation by the Collector of the land being acquired and if the Collector found that the eventual award would substantially exceed the provisional valuation he was required to obtain further instructions from the higher authorities. Now the proviso inserted in subsection (1) of Section 11 by the Amendment Act of 1984 lays down the statutory requirement that no award shall be made by the Collector without previous approval of the appropriate Government or of such officer as the appropriate Government may authorize in this behalf. There is no similar provision requiring the approval of the local authority. Sub-section (2) of Section 50 is the only provision which affords a certain degree of protection to it in the matter of determination of the amount of compensation by the Collector as well as the Reference Court. Keeping these considerations in view we are of the opinion that sub-section (2) of Section 50 must be construed as conferring a right on the local authority for whom the land is being acquired to participate in the acquisition proceedings at the stage of determination of the amount of compensation before the Col ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mpensation, 7th Edn., Vol.-l at p. 1045) Having regard to the difference between the position of a local authority for whom the land is acquired and the Government in the matter of determination of the amount of compensation by the Collector to which the reference has been made by us earlier and especially after the insertion of the proviso in Section 11(1) in L.A. Act by the Amendment Act of 1984 the fact that no right has been conferred on the Government to seek a reference under Section 18 may not be a sufficient justification for denial of such a right to a local authority. While it is true that a local authority is not compelled to proceed under the L.A. Act and if it can procure land more cheaply by private negotiations it is certainly at liberty to do so but there may be cases, as in the case of acquisition of land for the Board, where it is permissible for a local authority to take possession of the land which is being acquired under Section 17(1) before the making of the award by the Collector. In such a case the local authority would have no choice but to pay the amount of compensation as determined by the Collector. We have adverted to these aspects not with a view to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the said judgment was affirmed in appeal by this Court. It was observed : Admittedly the land was acquired for the purpose of the respondent- Corporation and the burden of payment of the compensation is on the Corporation. In this background the High Court has held that it was mandatory for the court of reference to have caused a notice to be served on the respondent-Corporation before proceeding to determine the compensation claim. Since no notice was given to the respondent-Corporation and it was thus deprived of an opportunity to place its case before the court, the judgment rendered in the reference case was illegal and not binding on the corporation. We are in agreement with this view. (p. 618) Similarly, in Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti v. Ashok Singhal Ors., 1991 Supp. (2) SCC 419, there was a requirement to serve a notice on the person or body for whose benefit the acquisition was made. Such a notice was not served on the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti by the reference court which enhanced the amount of compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer and the said amount was further enhanced by the High Court which also did not serve a notice on the Krisi Upaj Mandi S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ration of the City of Ahmedabad v. Chandulal Shamaldas Patel Ors., [1971] 3 SCC 821, land was sought to be acquired for the purpose of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Notifications issued under Sections 4 and 6 were , however, challenged by the land owner before the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution wherein the Municipal Corporation was also impleaded as respondent but no relief was claimed against it. The said Notifications were quashed by the High Court. The Municipal Corporation filed an appeal to this Court against the said decision of the High Court. A preliminary objection was raised with regard to the maintainability of the said appeal on the ground that the Municipal Corporation was not aggrieved by the said order. The said objection was upheld by this Court on the view that although the property was notified for acquisition by the State Government for use of the Municipal Corporation after it was acquired by the Government, that did not confer any interest in the Municipal Corporation so as to enable it to file an appeal against the order of the High Court allowing the petition. In Himalayan Tiles Marbles (P) Ltd. v. Francis Victor Countinho (Dea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on (p.240). The Court has also considered the definition of person interested contained in Section 3(b) of the L.A. Act and has held that the company for whom the land is acquired is a person interested for the purpose of Section 18(1) of the L.A. Act. The Court appears to have gone into this question for the reason that the Letters Patent Bench in the High Court had held that the company was not a person interested within the meaning of Section 18(1) of the L.A. Act. Having regard to the express provision contained in the proviso to Section 50(2) of the L.A. Act, it would not be correct to say that a local authority or a company for whom land is acquired is a person interested under Section 18(1) of the L.A. Act because on that view a local authority or a company would be entitled to seek a reference against the award of the Collector which would run counter to the proviso to Section 50(2). It was, therefore, not correct to place reliance on Section 18(1). But the conclusion in Himalayan Tiles s case (supra) that the company had the locus standi to file an appeal is right when the said judgment is read in the context of Section 50(2). For that reason, we are unable to end ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a). In a case where notice has been served on the local authority and it has appeared before the Collector the local authority may feel aggrieved on account of it being denied opportunity to adduce evidence or the evidence adduced by it having not been considered by the Collector while making the award or the award being vitiated by malafides. Since the amount of the compensation is to be paid by the local authority and it has an interest in the determination of the said amount, which has been given recognition in Section 50(2) of the L.A. Act, the local authority would be a person aggrieved who can invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to assail the award in spite of the proviso precluding the local authority from seeking a reference. Such a challenge will, however, be limited to the grounds on which judicial review is permissible under Article 226 of the Constitution. In a case where the local authority has failed to appear inspite of service of notice the local authority can have no cause for grievance. Even in such a case it may be permissible for the local authority to invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ircumstances, we are of the opinion that the presence of the local authority is necessary for the decision of the question involved in the proceedings before the reference court and it is a proper party in the proceedings. The local authority is, therefore, entitled to be impleaded as a party in the proceedings before the reference court. In case the amount of compensation has been enhanced by the court and no appeal is filed by the Government the local authority if adversely affected by such enhancement may file an appeal with the leave of the court. This right of the local authority does not depend on its being impleaded as a party in the proceedings before the reference court. Even if the local authority is not impleaded as a party before the reference court it can file an appeal against the award of the reference court in the High Court after obtaining leave if it is prejudicially affected by the award. In case the Government files an appeal against the enhancement of the award the local authority is entitled to support the said appeal and get itself impleaded as a party. When the person having an interest in the land files an appeal in the High Court against the award of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... impleaded as a party in those proceed-ings wherein it can defend the determination of the amount of compensa-tion by the Collector and oppose enhancement of the said amount and also adduce evidence in that regard. 7. In the event of enhancement of the amount of compensation by the reference court if the Government does not file an appeal the local authority can file an appeal against the award in the High Court after obtaining leave of the court. 8. In an appeal by the person having an interest in land seeking enhancement of the amount of compensation awarded by the reference court the local authority, the should be impleaded as a party and is entitled to be served notice of the said appeal. This would apply to an appeal in the High Court as well as in this Court. 9. Since a company for whom land is being acquired has the same right as a local authority under Section 50(2), whatever has been said with regard to a local authority would apply to a company too. 10. The matters which stand finally concluded will, however, not be reopened. We may now consider whether in the facts of the present case the Board can be held entitled to any relief. It is not disputed that no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... L.A. Act ) as amended by the Act. Facts even though short and simple are necessary to be mentioned, in brief, at this stage only for deciding the issue of non- impleadment of the appellant, a local authority in compensation proceedings. Suffice it to mention that the Board did not appear before the Collector nor any opportunity was sought by it to lead evidence on compensation, as provided by section 50 of the L.A. Act, consequently it was not made a party either before the Tribunal which under the Act is empowered to hear reference against the award made by the Collector or in first appeal in the High Court. What is claimed is that the Board came to known of the decisions of the High Court and of the Tribunal after the claimants filed special Lave Petitions in this Court claiming additional compensation under Section 23(1-A) of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act of 1984. Consequently it filed an application before the High Court for recall and review of the order passed by it but the applications having been rejected it has approached this Court by way of these appeals. The Board has also filed application in other Special Leave Petitions filed by the claimants for being imp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 entitles the person concerned to file objection and under Section 31 the Board may after giving opportunity of hearing to the objector either abandon the scheme or sanction it and if the scheme exceeds Rs. Twenty lakhs then submit to the State Government for sanction with such modifications as the Board may suggest. Section 32 requires the Board to notify the scheme as sanctioned by the Board or the State Government. The effect of such notification under Section 32 is that the scheme comes into force from the date of the notification. http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 12 of 26 For purposes of acquiring land to implement the notified scheme the Act empowers the Board to take action under L.A. Act to the extent it is modified by the Act. Section 55 of the Act is extracted below : 55. Power to acquire land - (1) Any land or any interest therein required by the Board for any of the purposes of this Act, may be acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984 (Act No. 1 of 1894), as amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh, which for this purpose shall be subject to the modifications specified in the Schedule to this Act. (2) If any land in respect of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... judging the market value aforesaid in any case were a land is acquired under a housing or improvement scheme under the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965, if any building has been erected, re- erected, added or altered in contravention of the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (3) of Section 23, sub-section (3) of Section 24 or Section 35 of the said Adhiniyam, any increase in the market value resulting from such erection, re-erection, addition or alteration shall be disregarded. ; (ii) after the existing sub-section (1) the following shall be added as sub-section (2), namely - (2) In addition to the market value of the land as above provided, the court shall in every case award a sum of fifteen percentum of such market value in consideration of the compulsory nature of the acquisition. The acquisition as is clear from Section 55 of the Act is under the provisions of the L.A. Act except to the extent it has been modified by the Schedule. Proceedings under Section 28 and notification under Section 32 are analogous to Sections 4 and 6 of the L.A. Act. But once notification under Section 32 of the Act has been issued it is the L.A. Act which come ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h officers and servants as it considers necessary for the conduct of its business, and the remuneration and other conditions of service of such officers and servants shall be such as may be prescribed. (7) The remuneration payable to the judicial officer appointed as Tribunal and other officers and servants of the Tribunal shall be paid out of the fund of the Board. The award by the tribunal becomes an award of the Court under L.A. Act as is clear from Section 66(1) of the Act which is extracted below: 66. Finality of decisions of Tribunal - (1) An award of the Tribunal in a case relating to the acquisition of land under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Act No. 1 of 1894), as modified by the Schedule to this Act, shall be deemed to be an award of the court under that Act and shall, subject to the provisions of Section 54 of that Act, be final. (2)............. . It is thus clear that except for certain modifications and the constitution of a tribunal for purposes of deciding the reference the entire proceedings are taken under the L.A. Act. The Act does not provide the procedure in accordance with which the tribunal has to function except that it shall have the po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d within Sec. 3(b) of the Act because he claims an interest in compensation.......... The context in which these observation were made were entirely different. Land of one Sunder Lal was acquired. Khushal Singh was a lessee. In proceedings for compensation Khushal Singh also staked his claim. It was accepted. One Paramsukhdas in the meantime had obtained a decree against Khushal Singh. He, therefore, made an application that he may be impleaded and the amount of compensation determined to be paid to Khushal Singh may be paid to him in satisfaction of his money decree. It was it this context that the Court observed, It seems to us that Paramsukhdas was clearly a person interested in the objections which were pending before the Court in the references made to it and that he was also a person whose interest would be affected by the objections within Sec. 21. He was accordingly entitled to be made a party............. This observation by the Court made in entirely different context could not have been extended to a case like Himalaya Tiles (supra). The observation that the words person interested is inclusive definition cannot be disputed. But with profound respect ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (a) the Deputy Commissioner; (b) all persons interested in the reference; and (c) if the acquisition is not made for government, the person or authority for whom it is made. The decision was thus rendered on specific provision of the Act and this important finding does no appear to have been brought to the notice of the Court. What is necessary to be mentioned is that the Bench deciding the case of Neelgangabai (supra) did not base its decision on Himalaya Tiles (supra) as in view of clear provisions in clause (c) for issuing notice to the authority for whom the acquisition was being made it did not consider it necessary to enter into any other controversy. The decision thus turned on specific provisions of the Karnataka Act and no assistance could have been derived from it for deciding if issuing of notice to acquiring body was mandatory in every case where the land was acquired for company or local authority. Similarly in Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti v. Ashok Singhal Others, [1991] Supp. 2 SCC 419 Section 54 of the Krishi Upaj Act required notice to be issued to persons interested which included the body for which the land was being acquired and, therefore, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Government. The Act does not contemplate presence or absence of the acquiring body in the proceedings taken by the Collector, except of the local authority to limited extent which shall be referred presently. Inquiry under the L.A. Act for determination of compensation is contemplated both at the stage of making of award by the Collector under Section 11 or Court under Action 18 of the L.A. Act and Section 64 of the Act. The scope of the inquiry under Section 11 of the L.A. Act is confined to the objections, if any, filed by the persons interested in pursuance of the notice issued under Section 9 of the L.A. Act. Who such person is and what objections can be filed by him are mentioned in Section 9 itself. Section 9 read as under : S.9. Notice to persons interested - (1) The Collector shall then cause public notice to be given at convenient places on or near the land to be taken, stating that the Government intends to take possession of the land, and that claims to compensation for all interests in such land may be made to him. (2) Such notice shall state the particulars of the land so needed, and shall require all persons interested in the land to appear personal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tgagee, tenant or otherwise, and of the nature of such interest, and of the rents and profits (if any) received or receivable on account thereof for three years next preceding the date of the statement. It again emphasises person interested to be a person having interest in the land who is entitled to receive compensation. After the objections are filed by the persons interested an inquiry is held by the Collector and award is made under Section 11 of the L.A. Act. Section 11 as extracted below ; S.ll. Enquiry and award by Collector - (1) On the day so fixed, or on any other day to which the enquiry has been adjourned, the Collector shall proceed to enquire into the objections (if any) which any person interested has stated pursuant to a notice given under Section 9 to the measurements made under Section 8, and into the value of the land at the date of the publication of the notification under Section 4, sub-section (1), and into the respective interests of the persons claiming the compensation and shall make an award under his hand of - (i) the true area of the land; (ii) the compensation which in his opinion should be allowed for the land; and (iii) the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... covered in the person interested, it would not only destroy the legislative conclusiveness visualised to an award but result in uncertainity of the proceedings till the end. Same conclusion follows from Sections 18, 19 and 20 of the L.A. Act which deal with reference to the Court, the person to whom notice has to be issued and the matters which have to be decided. Sub-section (1) of Section 18 is extracted below : - S. 18. Reference to Court. - (1) Any person interested who has not accepted the award may, by written application to the Collector, require that the matter be referred by the Collector for the determination of the Court, whether his objection be to the measurement of the land, the amount of the compensation, the persons to whom it is payable, or the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested. The right to seek reference is a limited right to the person interested who has not accepted the award. The person interested in the Section cannot mean any one other than the one who is visualised in Sections 9 and 10 of the L.A. Act. The scope of reference under Section 18 is the same as under Section 11. Therefore, person interested cannot have an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the L.A. Act at this stage : 50. Acquisition of land at cost of a local authority or company - (1) Where the provisions of this Act are put in force for the purpose of acquiring land at the cost of any fund controlled or managed by a local authority or of any company, the charges of and incidental to such acquisition shall be defrayed from or by such fund or company. (2) In any proceeding held before a Collector or Court in such cases the local authority or company concerned may appear and adduce evidence for the purpose of determining the amount of compensation : Provided that no such local authority or company shall be entitled to demand a reference under Section 18. This Section enables a local authority to appear and adduce evidence for purpose of determining compensation. It has been permitted to participate for a limited purpose only as is apparent from the report of the Select Committee of 23rd March 1893 which is extracted below : To Section 50 we have added at the desire of the Government of Bombay a clause permitting the appearance before the Collector or the Court, of the representative of a Local Authority or Com-pany on whose behalf la ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ovisions are Section 12A, 18 or appeal etc. It cannot be disturbed at the instance of the local authority. In Udit Narain Singh Malpaharia v. Additional Member Board of Revenue, Bihar, AIR (1963) SC 786 this Court observed thus, To answer the question raised it would be convenient at the outset to ascertain who are necessary or proper parties in a proceeding. The law on the subject is well settled : it is enough if we state the principle. A necessary party is one without whom no order can be made effectively; a proper party is one in whose absence an effective order can be made but whose presence is necessary for a complete and final decision on the question involved in the proceeding. A local authority is not even a proper party in the sense that the court or the claimant or the interested person seeking reference or filing appeal are not required to implead them as in absence of their appearance and leading any evidence their presence is immaterial for complete and final decision of the proceedings. Absence of any provision for impleading acquiring body appears to be based on equity and justice. A company or local authority seeking acquisition of land and displacing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o stand the strain. The real worth of the compensation already devalued, the expenditure in the court having ruined him it would not be just and proper to set aside the order at the instance of a person who is not a necessary party and for whose impleadment there is no provision in the L.A. Act and for which neither he is responsible nor the court and above all who having been given right to participate chose to be a watcher only. The submission advanced on behalf of the appellant that it being statutorily entitled to lead evidence it was incumbent on the Collector and the Court to issue notice to it and if they failed to discharge their obligation the appellant was entitled to challenge the determination of compensation in higher court by filing appeal or writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was under complete misapprehension. Right to notice in proceedings in court of law or quasijudicial proceedings are different than the right of appeal. The former may arise either under the statutory provision or the principle of natural justice may require it or it may be necessary on principle of legitimate expectation. That shall be adverted later. But right of ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such matters it ultimately recoils on the society. As is clear from the Select Committee s report, extracted earlier, the Legislature was aware, even then, that an exception was to be made in favour of a local authority or company as, at times, such authority may be in a better position, than the Collector, to bring evidence on record which may be of assistance in determination of compensation. It has become more necessary, in the present day, as the acquisition proceeding under various local acts till the stage of issuing notification analogous to Section 6 of the L.A. Act are taken under the local Act. And the Collector takes over, as in the case of appellant, from the stage of Section 7 of the L.A. Act. Further in such acquisitions namely for the Local body there is absence of any http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Page 22 of 26 personal involvement. And the possibility of best evidence being withheld or prevented from coming on record due to vested interest, the number of which is growing every day cannot be ruled out. What, therefore, requires examination is that even though the right of impleadment or appeal was not allowed to the local body and what was assured was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Council applied this principle where expectations were, based upon some statement or undertaking by or on behalf of, the public authority , and observed, Accordingly legitimate expectations in this context are capable of including expectations which go beyond enforceable legal rights, provided they have come reasonable basis . A person may have a legitimate expectation of being treated in a certain way by an administrative authority even though he has no legal right in private law to receive such treatment (Halsbury s Laws of England Vol. 1(1) 4th Edn. Re-issue Para 81). Fair procedure and just treatment is the core of our jurisprudence. No one should suffer for omission in law or technicalities in rules. Therefore when the law permits the local body to lead evidence then it is implicit in it that the local authority can legitimately expect to be informed or intimated of the proceedings. It would be in consonance with principle of fairness. Otherwise the right to lead evidence shall hand on the oft chance of the authority having come to know of the proceedings. In English cases referred earlier inference was drawn on existence of such right as it would have otherwise worked ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ensation except on the ground of fraud, corruption of collusion, therefore, it is in the interest of the person whose land has been acquired that the necessary intimation should be given to the acquiring body at the earliest so that it may not raise the plea of fraud, corruption or collusion after conclusion of the proceedings either before the Court or in appeal. But the obligation of the Collector or the court to issue notice shall be prospective in operation. That is it shall apply to only those proceedings which are initiated hereinafter or are pending before the Collector or Court. It shall not be available in appeals pending against the order passed in reference in High Court or this Court except in those rare cases where the local authority is able to establish that it had no knowledge about the proceedings at any stage and the proceedings were vitiated because of fraud or collusion. The conclusions, thus, that can be drawn from the discussion may be summarised as under : (i) An acquiring body including local authority or company is not a necessary party either before the Collector who makes the award or before the Court which hears the reference. (ii) Any proceedin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Land Acquisition Officer who adopted belting system for determining the market value and divided the land covered by the award into three belts fixing definite amount for each belt. In reference, the Tribunal determined the market value and enhanced the compensation. The High Court in first appeal doubled it nearly. It also awarded solatium at the rate of 30% on the amount of enhanced compensation and interest at the rate of 12% under sub-section (1-A) of Section 23 of the L.A. Act. The High Court decided the appeal on 18th April 1991. The owners were still not satisfied and consequently filed the special leave petitions in this Court, for grant of interest under Section 23-A added to the L.A. Act in 1984. The Board claims to have come to know of these proceedings after the judgment of the High Court and filing of special leave petitions by the claimants and, therefore, it move applications under Section 114 and Order 47 Rule 1 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure before the High Court for the review of its order. The application was dismissed on 3rd December 1992 as it was filed after long delay without proper explanation and even the court fee paid was defici ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e land falling in three different belts, we are of the view that the rates for the land for each of the three belts as specified by S.L.O. in his award should reasonably be fixed as below : 1. For the land falling in First Belt......Rs. 25 per sq. yd. 2. For the land falling in Second Belt........Rs. 23.50 per sq. yd. 3. For the land falling in Third Belt.....Rs. 20 per sq. yd. Not an iota of evidence has been discussed. No material has been noticed. No reason has been given for such enhancement. Determination of compensation undoubtedly involves guess work but what is meant by guess work and to what extent the courts can indulge in such guess work has been laid down in numerous decisions of this Court. But the finding extracted above, to say the least, is not only arbitrary without basis but in utter disregard of the statutory law and the judicial expositions of it. It is not necessary to say further but the finding and the reasoning recorded by the High Court is indeed a matter of concern. It is accordingly set aside and the High Court is requested to decide it afresh after hearing the parties. It is necessary to clarify that the Board shall not have a right of being ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he amount of compensation awarded by the reference court the local authority should be impleaded as a party and is entitled to be served notice of the said appeal. This would apply to an appeal in the High Court as well as in this Court. 9. Since a company for whom land is being acquired has the same right as a local authority under Section 50(2), whatever has been said with regard to a local authority would apply to a company too. 10. The matters which stand finally concluded will, however, not be reopened. We, therefore allow the applications submitted by the Board for being impleaded as a respondent in the appeals filed by the land owners in this Court and direct that the Board be also impleaded as a respondent in the appeals filed by the land owners in the High Court. The judgment of the Allahabad High Court dated December 21, 1990 in First Appeals Nos. 584, 585 and 642 of 1985 and the judgment of the said High Court dated April 18,1991 in First Appeals Nos. 586, 587 and 641 of 1985 as well as the order dated January 20, 1993 on the review applications filed against the judgment dated April 18, 1991 are set aside and the said appeals are remitted to the High Court for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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