K. KRISHNA REDDY AND ORS.versusSPECIAL DY. COLLECTOR, LAND ACQUISITION UNIT II, LMD KARIMNAGAR, ANDHRA PRADESH

                 K. KRISHNA REDDY AND ORS.                                   A
                                    v.
SPECIAL DY. COLLECTOR, LAND ACQUISITION UNIT II,
       LMD KARIMNAGAR, ANDHRA PRADESH

                         SEPTEMBER 8, 1988
                                                                             B
       [G.L. OZA AND K. JAGANNATBA SHETIY· JJ.]

    Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ss. 4( 1) and 18-Award and
payment of compensation-To be made without delay-Appellate
power of remand-When to be exercised.

      The appellants were awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer
                                                                             c
compensation ranging from Rs.1,320 to 4,000 per acre depending upon
the nature of the land acquired in 1977. The District Judge enhanced
the compensation to Rs.85,000 per acre on the ground that compensa·
tion@ Rs.85,000 per acre under Award Ex. A.4 and Rs. 70,000 under
Award Ex. A.5 had already been awarded in respect of acquisition of          D
certain other similar lands situated in Karimnagar. However, the High
Court, in appeal, remanded the matter for fresh disposal and also
observed that the District Judge should exclude Ex. A.4 and Ex. A. 5
from consideration as the land concerned in those awards are not
comparable lands.
                                                                             E
      In appeals ·to this Court by Special Leave, it was contended on
behalf of the appellants that the mallet should not be remanded to the
District Judge, since the claimants. being small holders and agricul·
turists, are hard pressed and unable to fight another ro.und oflitigation
and that they are prepared to accept any compensation which this
Court may think fit to award.                                                F

      Allowing the appeals,

      HELD: .(1) The Judgments of the High Court and the District
Judge are set aside. The compensation at the rate of Rs.25,000 per acre
regardless of categorisation would be sufficient to meet the ends of         G
justice. It is needless to state that the claimants are entitled to manda·
tory solatium at 30% and also statutory interest. [857G-H]

      2(i) It is of-utmost importance that the award should be made
without delay. The enhanced compensation must be determined without
loss of time. [857C]                                                         H
                                   853
    854         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [1988] Supp. 2 S.C.R.

          2(ii) The appellate power of remand at any rate onght not to be
A
    exercised lightly. It shall not be resorted to unless the award is wholly
    unintelligible. It shall not be exercised unless there is total lack of
    evidence. If remand is imperative, and if the claim for enhanced com-
    pensation is tenable, it would be proper for the appellate court to do
    modest best to mitigate hardships. The appellate court may direct some
B   interim payment to claimants subject to adjustment in the eventual
    award. [857C-D]

         3. This is not a cas~ of no evidence. This is a case of both relevant
    and irrelevant evidence mixed up together. Therefore irrelevant and
    exaggerated claim must be excluded. [857F]
c         In the instant case, the location of lands will have to be borne in
    mind while ascertaining the market value. The Commissioner has
    stated that the lands are more suitable for house sites than for
    agriculture. There is, no reason to discard this evidence and reject Ex.
    A. 5 altogether. [856C-D]
D
         CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos.
    3159-3170of 1988.

         From the Judgment and Order dated 30.12.1985 of the Andhra
    Pradesh High Court in Appeal No. 2578 to 2583 of 1985.
E
          K. Rajendra Chowdhary and A. Sobba Rao for the Appellants.

         P.A. Choudhary, T.V.S.N. Chari, Mrs. Sunita Rao, Badrinath
    and K. Ram Kumar for the Respondent.

F         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

          .TAGANNATHA SHETTY, J. We grant Special Leave and pro-
    ceed to dispose of these appeals.

          These appeals are from a judgment dated 30 December, 1985 of
G   the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in a batch of appeals arising out of
    land acquisition proceedings. The lands in question are situated in
    Hasanapur of Karimnagar Taluk. The lands are acquired for the
    purpose of submergence under Lower Manair Dam Reservoir project.
    Section 4(1) notification was issued on 24 March, 1977. The land
    acquisition officer by his award dated 15 July, 1978 awarded compen-
H   sation ranging from Rs.1320 to 4,000 per acre depending upon the
         K.K. REDDY v. SPECIAL DY. COLLECTOR [SHETIY, J.[             855

 nature of the land and the crop grown thereon. The District Judge on a
                                                                             A
 reference under s. 18 of the Act enhanced the compensation to
 Rs.85,000 per acre regardless of categorisation. The High Court by the
 Judgment under appeals herein has remanded the matter for fresh
 disposal with liberty for both parties to adduce additional evidence.
 The High Court has specifically observed that the District Judge
 should exclude Ex. A. 4 and Ex. A. 5 from consideration. Ex. A. 4           B
 and Ex. A. 5 are the awards pertaining to acquisition of certain lands
 situated in Karimnagar. Thereunder, compensation at the rate of
 Rs. 85,000 per acre under Ex. A.4 and Rs. 70,000 under Ex. A.5 were
 given. The High Court has observed that the lands concerned in those
 awards are not comparable lands.

       Hence these appeals.                                                  c
       The first question that arises for consideration is whether Ex. A.5
 should be altogether excluded or it should be kept open for being
 considered by the District Judge on merits. This is the specific question
 on which this Court issued notice on the Special Leave petition. If first   D
 part of the question is answered in the negative, then the second ques-
 tion for consideration is whether the matter should go back to District
 Judge for fresh disposal.

      We heard counsel on both sides on the merits of the entire
 matter.                                                                     E

       The claimants have alleged that the lands acquired are fit for
 residential houses as they are adjacent to industrial estate,
 MARKFED factory, Vanaspathi complex, diary farm and Padma-
 nagar colony. The lands have potentiality of being used as house sites
 and the like of which was sold for Rs.5,000 per gunta prior to the          F
 present acquisition. The lands are near to Karimnagar town. The town
 is developing into a modern town in Andhra Pradesh, with a lot of
 industrial, commercial, educational activities. They have claimed com-
 pensation at Rs. 1,60,000 per acre for dry lands and a little more for
 wet lands.
                                                                             G
       The evidence in support of their claim consists of the testimony
 of one of the claimants (PW 1). He has given a rosy picture of the
 location and value of the lands. Another witness (PW 2) has corro-
 borated the version of PW 1. Besides we have the evidence of a
 Commissioner. Mr. G. Santosh Reddy Advocate was appointed as
 Commissioner in this case. He has filed his report Ex. A. 7 and Plan        H
·Ex.A.8.
    856         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                I l988] Supp. 2 S.C.R.
          The High Court appears to have brushed aside all that evidence.
A
    The High Court compared the combined map of Karimnagar and
    Hasnapur village (Ex. A.3) with the sketch map (Ex. A.8) prepared by
    the Commissioner. The High Court was of opinion that the larids
    concerned in Ex.A.5 are abutting Karimnagar town. They are close to
    MARKFED and other industrial institutions and buildings, but not the
B   lands in question. The Hi°gh Court said: "whereas admittedly the lands
    in question are 3 kms from Karimnagar town". This statement has
    been seriously disputed before us. It is said that the claimants or their
    counsel did not admit, and indeed could not have made that admission
    suicidal to their case.

          Be that as it may, the distance determined by the High Court
c   whether on admission or by comparison of village maps makes little
    difference. The distance from Karimnagar town should not be a
    ground to reject Ex. A.5. If the lands are suitable for house sites, Ex.
    A.5 would still be relevant. The location of lands will have to be borne
    in mind while ascertaining the market value.
D
          As to the nature of lands we have the evidence of the Commis-
    sioner. He is an Advocate of the local Bar. He had gone to the spot.
    He had a topographic surveying. According to his evidence, the lands
    in question are similar in nature and of value as the lands covered
    under the Award Ex. A.5. The lands are nearer to collectorate comp-
E   lex, RTC Bus stand and other housing complex. He has stated that the
    lands are more suitable for house sites than for agriculture. There is,
    no reason to discard this evidence. We cannot therefore, reject Ex.
    A.5 altogether.

           The next question for consideration is whether it is now neces-
F   sary to keep the remand order undisturbed. Counsel for the claimants
    is totally against the matter being sent back to the District Judge. He
    urged that the claimants are small holders and agriculturists. They are
    hard pressed and unable to fight another round of litigation. They are
    prepared to accept any compensation which this Court may think fit to
    award. This plea of the counsel has an appealing simplicity. It reflects
G   the facts of life and problems of litigation.

          We can very well appreciate the anxiety and need of claimants to
    get compensation here and now. No matter what it is. The lands were
    acquired as far back in 1977. One decade has already passed. Now the
    remand means another round of litigation. There would .be· further
H   delay in getting the compensation. After all money is what money
         K.K. REDDY v. SPECIAL DY. COLLECTOR [SHETTY, J.]              857

buys: What the claimants could have bought with the compensation in
                                                                              A
1977 cannot do in 1988. Perhaps, not even one half of it. It is a
common experience that the purchasing power of rupee is dwindling.
With rising inflation, the delayed payment may, lose all charm and
utility of the compensation. In some cases, the delay may be detrimen-
tal to the interests of claimants. The Indian agriculturists generally
have no avocation. They totally depend upon land. If uprooted, they           B
will find themselves nowhere. They are left high and dry. They have no
savings to draw. They have nothing to fall back upon. They know no
other work. They may even face starvation unless rehabilitated. In all
such cases, it is of utmost importance that the award should be made
without delay. The enhanced compensation must be determined with-
out loss of time. The appellate power of remand, at any rate ought not
to be exercised lightly. It shall not be resorted to unless the award is      C
wholly unintelligible. It shall not be exercised unless there is total lack
of evidence. If remand is imperative, and if the claim for enhanced
compensation is tenable, it would be proper for the appellate court to
do modest best to mitigate hardships. The appellate court may direct
some interim payment to claimants subject to adjustment in the                D
eventual award.

      Counsel for the State argued that there is no material on record
for this Court to determine compensation and the remand may be
useful for the claimants themselves. He however, reluctantly indicated
his own estimate of the market value in the event of this Court giving a      E
quietus to the litigation.

       It seems to us that this is not a case of no evidence. This is a case
of both relevant and irrelevant evidence mixed up together. We must
exclude the irrelevant and exaggerated claim. The claimants have not
justified the award generously given by the District Judge. Rs.85,000 F
per acre appears to be on the high side as against the award Ex. A.5. In
the first place, Section 4 notification concerned in that Award was
dated 16 February 1978. It was almost a year after the notification in
these cases. Secondly, the lands therein were close to the town of
Karimnagar. The situation is not similar in this case. Here the lands
are 3 kms awy from Karimnagar town. It is in this background we have G
carefully considered the rough estimates given by counsel on both
sides. We have also examined the relevant material. A distance of 3
kms from a growing town of District headquarters should not however,
make a world of difference. We are of opinion that the compensation
at the rate of Rs.25,000 per acre regardless of categorisation would be
sufficient to meet the ends of justice. It is needless to state that the H
    858         SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [1988] Supp. 2 S.C.R.

A claimants are entitled to mandatory solatium at 30 per cent and also
  statutory interest.

          In the result, we allow these appeals and set aside the judgments
    of the High Court and District Judge. There shall be an award in terms
    as indicated above. In the circumstances of the case, we make no order
B   as to costs.

    M.L.A.                                               Appeals allowed.