Holding

Section 55 of the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Act incorporates the Land Acquisition Act, so the amendments made by the 1984 Act, including increased solatium and interest, apply to acquisitions under the Parishad Act.

Summary

The Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad (Parishad) acquired over 200 acres of land for a housing scheme under its 1965 Act and determined compensation at Rs 30 per sq yd, which landowners contested, claiming Rs 150 per sq yd. The Civil Court fixed Rs 150 per sq yd with a 10 % deduction; the High Court reduced it to Rs 110 per sq yd and allowed a one‑third deduction for development costs. The Supreme Court was asked whether the amendments introduced by the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 – which increased solatium to 30 % and interest rates – apply to acquisitions made under Section 55 of the Parishad Act, which incorporates the Land Acquisition Act by reference. The Court held that Section 55 incorporates the Land Acquisition Act so that any later amendments to the Act, including those of 1984, are applicable to acquisitions under the Parishad Act, thereby avoiding discriminatory compensation. Consequently, the Court dismissed all civil appeals, writ petitions and special leave petitions, affirming the High Court’s valuation and the one‑third deduction as proper. The Court also rejected the constitutional challenge under Article 14, finding no violation of equality.

Issues considered

The applicability of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 amendments to land acquired under Section 55 of the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Act, 1965.
Whether Section 55 incorporates the Land Acquisition Act by reference (legislation by incorporation) or merely refers to it (referential legislation).
Whether differing compensation rates (solatium 15 % vs 30 %) create unconstitutional discrimination under Article 14.
The proper method of determining market value of a large parcel of land using sale exemplars and the appropriateness of a one‑third deduction for development costs.

Legislation cited

Land Acquisition Act, 1894s. 23(1-A), s. 23(2), s. 28
Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984s. 23(1-A), s. 23(2), s. 28
Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Act, 1965s. 55

Subjects

Land acquisitionCompensationStatutory constructionIncorporation by referenceEqualityArticle 14SolatiumInterestHousing scheme

Judgment

A U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PAR!SHAD
v.
JAINUL ISLAM AND ANR.

JANUARY 21, 1998

B [S.C. AGRAWAL, B.N. KIRPAL AND V.N. KHARE, JJ.]

U.P. Avas Evem Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965-Section 55-
Acquisition o_f land for executing housing sche1ne under the Adhini}·am-
C Reference to land Acquisition Act, 1894 in section 55 of the Adhiniyam-
Applicability of amendments introduced in the land Acquisition Act, 1894
relating to determination and payment of compensation under Section 23 (I-
A}, 23(2) and 28 as amended by 1894 Act-Held, legislature intended to
apply amendments introduced to acquisition Act, 1894-Section 23 (1-A),
23(2) and 28.
D
Acquisition of land-Afarket Value-Determination-Direction about
deduction of one third of price towards cost of development for housing
scheme-Held, not illegal interference with the determination of market
value uncalled for-land Acquisition Act, 1894-Section 23.

E Interpretation of statutes-legislation by incorporation and by
reference-Effect of-Jn case of legislation by incorporation, repeal or
amendment does not effect operation of the incorporation ~tatute
Determination of whether legislation is by incorporation or reference depends
upon the language used in the incorporating statute.

F Housing scheme was framed by the appellant under the provisions of
the Uttar Pradesh Avas Evem Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965. The
notification was issued to the acquired under section 55 of the Adhiniyam.
The provisions of Land Acquisition Act ;is modified by the schedule to the
Adhiniyam were made applicable to acquisition of land for the purpose of the
G Adhiniyam. Therefore, amendments were introduced in the land Acquisition
Act, 1894 relating to determination and payment of compensation under
Section 23(1-A), 23(2) and 28 as amended by 1984 Act. As a result of the
amendments in Section 23(2) and 28 the solatium payable under Section
23(2) has been enhanced from 15% to 30% and the interest payable under •
Section 28 has been enhanced from 6% to 9% and 15%. The land
H Acquisition Officer determined the compensation to be paid to the respondent
254
~I
./~

U.P. AVAS EVAM VJKAS PARISHAD v. JAINUL ISLAM 255
The respondent claiming higher compensation made reference under Section A
18 of the claims. The civil court determined the market value oft.he land at
Rs. 150 per sq. yards but made a deduction of 10% out of it since the land
acquired constituted a large area. Aggrieved by the order the appellant and
the State of Uttar Pradesh jointly filed appeals before the High Court.

Some of the respondents-land owners challenged the deduction of 10% B
out of the market value of the land. The High Court partly allowing the
appeal assessed the market value of the land at Rs. llO per sq. yard and
directed that deduction on account of the large area of the land should be one-
third of the sum of Rs. 110. The High Court held that the amendments
introduced in the Land Acquisition Act by the 1984 Act are applicable to C
acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam and the respondents
are entitled to all statutory benefits under the Land Acquisition Act as
amended by the 1984 Act.

In this batch of civil appeals and Special Leave Petitions before this
Court the appellate challenged the applicability of the provisions contained D
in the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 to acquisition of land for
executing the housing scheme framed by the U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad
Adhiniyam, 1965. In the other batch of civil appeals and writ petitions the
respondents challenged the validity of provisions contained in L.A. Act, 1894
as applicable in the matter of acquisition of Land.
E
The appellant contended that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as modified
by the Schedule to the Adhjniyam, have been incorporated into the Adhiniyam
and as a consequence of such incorporation the provisions of the L.A. Act
as modified must be read as a part of the Adhiniyam itself and any amendment
made in the L.A. Act after the enactment of the Adhiniyam would not, ipso F
facto, apply so as to have the effect of modifying those provisions contained
in the Adhiniyam and, therefore, the amendments introduced the L.A. Act by
the 1984 Act would not apply to an acquisition made for the purposes of the
Adhiniyam on the basis of the provisions of L.A. Act as modified by the
Adhiniyam.
G
The respondent submitted that the amendments introduced in the L.A.
• f-- Act by the 1984 Act are applicable to an acquisition for the purposes of the
Adhiniyam.

Dismissing the Civil Appeals, writ petitions and Special Leave Petitions,
this court. H
256 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1998] 1 S.C.R.

A HELD : 1.1. On a proper construction of Section 55 of the U.P. Avas
Evam Vikas Paris had Adhiniyam while incorporating the provisions of the
L.A. Act in the Adhiniyam the intention of the Legislature was that
amendments in the L.A. Act relating to determination and payment of
compensation would be applicable to acquisition of lands for the purposes of
B the Adhiniyam. This means that the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act
by the 1984 Act relating to determination i;nd payment of compensation
under Sections 23,(1-A), 23(2) and 28 as amended by the 1984 Act would be
applicable to acquisitions for the purposes of the Adhiniyam under Section
55 of the Adhiniyam. [279-C)

C 2. A legislation may be a referential legislation or a legislation by
incorporation. In a referential legislation the provisions of the earlier
legislation to which reference is made in the subsequent legislation would
be applicable as it stands on the date of application of such earlier legislation
to matters referred to in the subsequent legislation. But in legislation by
incorporation the rule of construction is that repeal of the earlier statute
D which is incorporated does not affect operation of the subsequent statute in
which it has been incorporated. So also any amendment in the statute which
has been so incorporated that is made after the date of incorporation of such
statute does not affect the subsequent statute in which it is incorporated and
the provisions the of statute which have been incorporated would remain the
E same as they were at the time of incorporated and the subsequent amendments
are not to be read in the subsequent legislation. The legal effect of such
incorporation by referenee "is to write those sections into the new Act just
as if they had been actually written in it with the' pen or printed in it, and,
the moment you have those clauses in the later Act, you have no occasion
to refer to the former Act at all". As to whether a particular legislation falls
F in the category or referential legislation or legislation by incorporation
depends upon the language used in the statute in _which reference is made
to the earlier legislation and other relevant circumstances. 1269-E-G I

State of Madhya Pradesh v. M V. Narasimhan, 1197611 SCR 6, relied
G on Wood's Estate, Re (1886) 31 Ch D 607 p. 615, referred to

3.1. The amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act were
not part of the L.A. Act as applicable in State of Uttar Pradesh, at the time
of passing of the Adhiniyam. The provisions of the L.A. Act, as amended in
its application to U.P., with the modification specified in the Schedule to the
H Adhiniyam, have, therefore, to be treated to have been incorporated by reference
U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHAD v JAINUL ISLAM 257

into the Adhiniyam and became an integral part of the Adhiniyam and the A
said provisions would remain in the L.A. Act unless any of the exceptional
situations can be attracted. [267-G, 272-E-F]

Secretary of State v. Hindustan Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd.,
AIR (1931) PC 149. State of Madhya Pradesh v. M V Narasimha, [1931] I B
SCR 6, applied.

3.2. While construing the provisions of the Adhiniyam providing for
acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam one cannot lose sight
of the settled principle of statutory construction that if certain provisions of
law, construed in one way, would make them consistent with the Constitution C
another interpretation would render them unconstitutional, the Court would
lean in favour of the former construction. [274-F]

Kadar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar, [1962] Supp. 2 SCR 769, 808, 809.
relied on
D
3.3. If the provisions of the Adhiniyam are so construed as to incorporate
the provisions of the L.A. Act as it stood on the date of enactment of the
Adhiniyam without the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984
Act relating to determination and payment of compensation an owner whose
land is acquired for the purpose of the Adhiniyam would be entitled to E
payment of solatium under Section 23(2) of the L.A. Ad@ 15% and interest
under Section 28 of the L.A. Act @ 6% but an owner whose lands are
acquired ·under the provisions of the L.A. Act amended by the 1984 Act would
be entitled to payment of solatium @30% and interest@ 9% and 15% and
would also he entitled to payment of additional amount as per the provisions
of Section 23(1-A) of the L.A. Act, as amended. In other words, the F
__,,... compensation payable to the owner whose land is acquired for the purposes
of the Adhiniyam would be less than the compensation payable to the owner
whose land is acquired under the L.A. Act as amended by the 1984 Act.
There is no rational basis for treating the two land owners differently in the
matter of payment of compensation on the acquisition of their lands. It would G
suffer from the vice of arbitrary and hostile discrimination. Such a
consequence would be avoided ifthe provisions of the Adhiniyam are construed
to mean that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as amended by the 1984 Act,
relating to determination and payment of compensation would apply to
acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam. The provisions of the
Adhiniyam show that the intention of the Legislature, while enacting the H
258 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] I S.C.R.

A Adhiniyam, was to confer the benefit of solatuim @ 15% by modifying
Section 23(2) in the Schedule, which benefit was not available under the
provisions of the L.A. Act as it was applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh
at the time of enactment of the Adhiniyam. 1275-A-C, 278-G-H, 279-A-B]

Nagpur Improvement Trust & Anr v. Vithal Rao & Ors., [1973] 3 SCR
B 3, followed.

State of Madhya Pradesh v. G.C. Mandawar, [1955] 1 SCR 599;
Prakash Amichand Shah v. State of Gujarat & Ors., 11985] Supp. 3 SCR
1025 and Union ofIndia v. Hari Kishan Khalsa (dead) by LRs., 11993] Supp.
c 2 sec 2 149, referred to.

4.1. The High Court, rightly held that in the absence of any material
that the agreements for sale relied upon had matured into sale transactions
not much assistance could be derived from them in the matter of determination
of the market value of the acquired land. [281-E]
D
4.2. For determining the market value of a large property on the basis
of sale transactions for a small property a deduction should be given. Thus,
the direction about deduction of one third of the said price towards cost of
development for the housing scheme involving construction of roads and
other amenities is upheld. [281~F-G]
E
Tribeni Devi & Ors., v. Collector of Ranchi, [1972] 3 SCR 208; Vijay
Kumar Moti Lal v. State of Mahr:irashtra, (1981] 2 SCC 719; Special Land
Acquisition officer Benga/ore v. VT Velu & Ors., (1996] 2 SCC 538; K.S.
Shivadevamma & Ors. v. Asst. Commissioner & Ors., 11996] 2 SCC 62 and
F Basant Kumar v. Union of India, [1996] 2 SCC 542, held applicable.

Bhawathula Samanna & Ors. v. Special Tehsildar & Land Acquisition
Officer, Visakhapatnam, [1991] 4 SCC 506 and Maharbad & Ors. v. The
State of UP. & Ors., [199714Scale363, referred to.

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 6343 of 1995
G Etc. Etc.

From the Judgment and Order dated 7.12.1994 of the Allahabad High
Court in R.F.A. No. 750of1992.

H K.T.S. Tulsi, M.N. Venkataramani, S.B. Sanyal, Shanti Bhushan, Jitendra
U.P. AVAS EVAMVIKAS PARISHADv. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J] 259
Mohan Sharma, P.K. Jain, K.C. Jain, E.C. Agarwala, P.K. Roy, Nafis Ahmed A
Siqq, Mansoor Ali, Shiv Sagar Tiwari, S. Murlidhar, Pramod Dayal, Prashant
>- Chaudhary, Jayant Bhushan, Arvind Varma, Surya Kant, Sunil Gupta, Shashi
Bhushan and Anand Padmanabhan for the appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
B
,_ ---:· S.C. AGRA WAL, J. : (A) Civil Appeals Nos. 6343195, 6383/95, 6358/95,
6368/95, 6353/95, 6370/95, 6369195, 6371/95, 6363195, 6357/95, 6361195, 6356195,
6376195,6359195, 7646/95, 7361/95, 7362/95, 7363195, 6373/95, 6374/95, 6375/95,
6352/95, 6382/95, 6347/95, 6354/95, 6344/95, 6345195, 6355/95, 6350195, 6362/95,
6364/95, 7357/95, 7358/95, 7360/95, 7359/95, 7356/95, 7644/95, 7364/95, 7365/95,
6351195, 6349195, 6377/95, 6372/95, 6365/95, 6360195 And Civil Appeal c
Nos ............. {arising out of Special leave Petitions (Civil) Nos. 11170/95, 10512-
10538/95, 10147/95 and 9549/95}.
"-
Leave granted in Special Leave Petitions (Civil) Nos. 1170/95, 10512-
10538/95, 10147/95 and 9549/95.
D
...(
These appeals are directed against the judgment of the Allahabad High
Court dated December 7, 1994 in appeals arising out of proceedings for
acquisition of land in connection with the housing scheme framed by the U.P.
Avas Evam Vikas Parishad [hereinafter referred to as 'the Parishad'] under the
provisions of The Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965 E
[hereinafter referred to as 'the Adhiniyam]. They raise common questions
relating to the applicability of the provisions contained in the Land Acquisition
(Amendment) Act, 1984 [hereinafter referred to as 'the 198'1 Act' to acquisition
of land for executing the said scheme. The amendments introduced by the
1984 Act include insertion of sub-section (1-A) in Section 23 and amendment
of Sections 23(2) and 28 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 [hereinafter to as F
...,..., 'the L.A. Act]. As a result of the amendments in Sections 23(2) and 28 the
solatium payable under Section 23(2) has been enhanced from 15% to 30%
=- and the interest payable under Section 28 has been enhanced from 6% to 9%
and 15%.

The Parishad is a housing and development board established under G
Section 3 of the Adhiniyam. Under Section 15 of the Adhiniyam one of the
functions of the Board is "to frame and execute housing and improvement
>- schemes and other projects". In accordance with the provisions of the
Adhiniyam the Parishad framed the "Bhomi Vikas Evam Grihasthan Yojana No.
I 0 between Meerut-Hapur and Meerut-Delhi Road in Meerut". By Notification H·
260 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A dated July 23, 1983 (published in the U.P. Government Gazette dated August
27, 1983) issued under Section 28 of the Adhiniyam the Parishad notified the
said scheme. The scheme was prepared with a view to solving the acute
housing problem in the Meerut city and it covered lands lying in the outskirts
of Meerut city. The said notification was followed by Notification dated July.
15, 1985 (published in the U.P. Government Gazette dated August 3, 1985)
B issued under Section 32(1) of the Adhiniyam. The said notification dated July,
15, 1985 was in respect ofland covering 202.48 acres equivalent to 9,07,954 sq.
yards which was to be acquired under Section 55 of the Adhiniyam whereby
the provisions of the L.A. Act, as modified by the Schedule to the Adhiniyam,
have been made applicable to acquisition of land for the purposes of the
C Adhiniyam. After the issuance of the said notifications, the Land Acquisition
Officer initiated proceedings to determine the compensation to be paid to the
land owners whose lands were acquired in accordance with provisions of the
L.A. Act as modified under the Schedule to the Adhiniyam. The Land
Acquisition Officer determined the market value of the land so acquired at Rs.
30 per sq, yard and the compensation was offered to the land owners on that
D basis. The land owners claimed compensation at a higher rate of Rs. 150/-per
sq yard and sought reference under Section 18 of the L.A. Act and thereupon
references were made to the Civil Court for determination of such claims of
the land owners. By judgment dated December 12, 1991, the Civil Court,
namely, the Additional District Judge, Meerut, determined the marked value
E of the land at Rs. 150 per sq yard but he made a deduction of I 0% out of
it since the land acquired constituted a large area. Feeling aggrieved by the
said delermination made by the Civil Court the Parishad and the State ofUttar
Pradesh jointly filed appeals before the Allahabad High Court. Some of the
land owners filed cross-objections wherein they confined their challenge to
the deduction of 10% that was made by the Civil Court. By the impugned
F judgment dated December 7, 1994 the High Court has partly allowed the
appeals filed by the Parishad and has assessed the market value of the land
at Rs. 110 per sq yard and, instead of a deduction of I 0% made by the Civil
Court on account of the large area of the land, the High Court has, therefore,
fixed the market value of the land at Rs. 73 per sq. yard. The cross-objections
G filed by the land owners have been dismissed. The High Court has, however,
held that the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act are
applicable to acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam and the
land owners are entitled to all the statutory benefits under the L.A. Act as
amended by the 1984 Act so far as applicable to them. Feeling aggrieved by
the said decision of the High Court, the Parishad has filed Civil Appeals Nos.
H 6343/95, 6383/9.5, 6358195, 6368/95, 6353195, 6370195, 6369195, 6371/95, 6363/95,
UP AVAS EVAMVIKAS PARISHADv. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL,J.] 261

6357195, 6361195, 6356195, 6376195, 6359195, 7646195, 7361195, 7362195, 7363195, A
6373/95, 6374195, 6375195, 6352/95, 6382/95, 6347/95, 6354/95, 6344195, 6345195,
6355195, 6350195, 6362/95, 6364195, 7357195, 7358/95, 7360/95, 7359195, 7356/95,
7644/95, 7364/95, 7365/95, 6351/95, 6349/95, 6377/95, 6372/95, 6365/95 and
6360/95, before this Court. Felling aggrieved by the reduction in the market
value by the High Court some of the claimants have filed Civil Appeals arising B
out of Special Leave Petitions (Civil) Nos. 11170/95, 10512-10538/95, 10147/95
~ and 9579/95. The claimants, who are respondents in Civil Appeals Nos. 6353/
95 and 6363/95, filed by the Parishad, have filed Writ Petitions Nos. 224/97
and 339/97 under Article 32 of the Constitution wherein they have challenged
the validity of the provisions contained in the L.A. Act as applicable in the
matter of acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam by virtue of C
Section 55 read with the Schedule to the Adhiniyam.

It would be convenient, at this stage, to briefly refer to the relevant
provisions of the Adhiniyam.

The Adhiniyam has been enacted by the U.P. State Legislature to D
... provide for the establishment, incorporation and functioning of a housing and
development Board in the State of Uttar Pradesh. It had received the assent
of the President. Section 3 of the Adhiniyam provides for constitution of the
Board and in accordance with the said provision the Parishad had been
constituted by the State Government as a Board under the Adhiniyam. By
virtue of Section 3(3) of the Adhiniyam the Parishad is a local authority for E
the purposes of the L.A. Act. Section 15 of the Adhiniyam enumerates the
functions of the Board and one of the function thus enumerated is to frame
and execute housing and improvement schemes and other projects. Section
•
16 provides that the Board may on its own motion or at the instance of a local
authority frame a housing or improvement scheme and that the Board shall p
frame such a scheme when so directed by the State Government. Section 17
prescribed the matters whish are required to be provided for in such a scheme.
One of the matters to be provided is "the acquisition by purchase, exchange
or otherwise of any property necessary for or affected by 'the execution of
the scheme". Sub-section(!) of Section 28 provides that when any housing
or improvement scheme has been. framed the Board shall prepare a notice to G
that effect specifying the matters mentioned in clauses (a) to (c). Sub-section
(2) of Section 28 requires such notice to be published in the manner laid down
therein. Section 29 provides for service on the persons or classes of persons
of a notice stating that the Board proposes to acquire any specified land or
building for the execution of the scheme. Section 30 makes provision for filling H
262 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] 1 S.C.R.

A of objections against the scheme. Section 31 provides for sanctioning of the
scheme, with or without modifications after considering the objections received
under the Section 30, by the Board if the estimated cost of the scheme does
not exceed twenty lakhs of rupees and by the State Government if it exceeds
the said amount. Sub-Section ( 1) of Section 32 provides that whenever the
Board or the State Government sanctions a housing or improvement scheme,
B it shall be notified in the Gazette and Sub-section (2) lays down that the
notification under Sub-Section (I) in respect of any scheme shall be conclusive
evidence that the scheme has been duly framed and sanctioned. In cases
where the scheme is sanctioned by the Board an appeal lies to the State
Government against the decision of the Board under Sub-Section (3) of
C Section 32 and if the scheme is altered or cancelled by the State Government
on such appeal the cancellation or alteration is required to be notified in the
Gazette under sub-section (4) of Section 32. In Section 38 provision is made
for transfer to the Board of any building or land or any street, or any part
thereof, vested in a local authority which lies within the area comprised in any
' .
housing or improvement scheme and for payment by the Board to the local
D authority. as compensation. a sum equal to the market value of such land or
building or both, as the case may be, as on the date on which the scheme
comes into force. Section 39 makes provision for transfer of any private street
or square or part thereof which the public or any section of the public has
right to pass along or use and which is not vested in the Board or in any
E local authority for executing any housing or improvement scheme and for
. payment to the'previous owner compensation determined on the basis of the
market value, on the date of vesting, of his rights therein. Section 55 of tile
Adhiniyarn makes the following provisions regarding acquisition of land that
is required by the Board for any of the purposes of the Adhiniyam :-

F "Section 55. Power to acquire land.-(!) 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, 1894
· (Act No.I 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.
G
(2) If any land is respect of which· betterment fee has been levied
under this Act is subsequently required for any of the purposes of
this Act, such lery shall not be deemed. to prevent the acquisition of ·•
the land under the Land.Acquisition Act, 1894 (Act No. I of 1894)."

H Section 56 empowers the Board, by agreement with any person, to
U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHADv. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J] 263

purchase, lease or exchange any land or any interest therein required by it A
for any of the purposes of the Adhiniyam. Section 64 makes provision for the
constitution of one or more Tribunals for the purposes of, inter alia, performing
the functions of the Court with reference to the acquisition of land for the
Board under the L.A. Act, as modified by the Schedule to the Adhiniyam.

The Schedule to the Adhiniyam sets out the modifications in the L.A. B
Act, as amended, in its application to the State of Uttar Pradesh. As per the
said modifications:-

(i) Clause (i) has been inserted in Section 3 of the L.A. Act to define
"local authority" as including "the Board".
c
(ii) Clause G) has been inserted in Section 3 of the L.A. Act to define
'Board' to mean the Parishad established under the Adhiniyam.

(iii) The first publication in the Official Gazette of a notice of any
housing or improvement scheme under Section 28 or under clause (a)
of Sub-section (3) of Section 31 of the Adhiniyam has been substituted D
. for and shall have, in relation to any· 1and proposed to be acquired
under the Scheme, the same effect as publication in the Official Gazette
of a notification under sub-section (I) of Section 4 of the L.A. Act.

(iv) The publication of a notification under sub-section(!) or, as the
case may be, under sub-section (4) of Section 32 of the Adhiniyarn E
in the case of land acquired .under any housing or improvement
scheme under the Adhiniyam has been substituted for and shall have
the same effect as a declaration by ·the State Government under
Section 6 of the L.A. Act.

(v) Sub-section(!) of Section 17 of the L.A. Act has been substituted. F
In sub-section (I), so substituted, it is provided that whenever the
State Government so directs in the interest of the expeditious execution
ofhousing or improvement scheme under the Adhiniyam, the Collector,
though no such award has been. made, may on the expiration of fifteen
days from the publication of the notice mentioned in sub-section (I) G
of Section 9 take possession of any land needed for the purposes of
·the' Adhiniyam
·. .- '
aiill su¢h
._·
., ·' .,
land shall thereupon vest absolutely in the
>-'.• .
'

.· · . Go\iemment free.from·airencurnbrarrces.
· . I .•. ·. '
,...
(vi) Section 17-A has been inserted in the L.A. Act. The said provision
reads as ullder:-
H
264 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] l S.C.R.

A "Section I 7-A Transfer of land to Board,- 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 Uttar Pradesh Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam,
1965, and the land shall, thereupon vest in the Board subject to
B the liability of the Board to pay any further costs which may be
incurred on account of its acquisition."

(vii) In Section 23 of the L.A. Act for existing explanation to me clause
"firstly" the following provision has been substituted :-

c "Explanation.- In judging the market value aforesaid in any case
where a land is acquired under a housing or improvement scheme
under the Uttar Pradesh Avas Ev am 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
D 35 of the said Adhiniyam, any increase in the market value
resulting from such erection, re-erection, addition or alteration
shall be disregarded."
(viii) After the existing sub-section (1) in Section 23 of the L.A. Act
the following sub-section (2) has been added :-
E
"(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 marked value in consideration of the compulsory nature
of the acquisition."

F (ix) In Section 49 after sub-section (1) the following sub-section (1-a)
has been added :-

"(I-a) For the purposes of sub-section (! ), land which is held
with and attached to a house and is reasonably required for the
enjoyment and use of the house shall be deemed to be part of
G the house."

In this context, it may be mentioned that prior to the enactment of the
Adhiniyam the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature had enacted the Land
Acquisition (U.P. Amendment) Act, 1954 [U.P. Act 22 of 1954] [hereinafter
referred to as 'the 1954 Act'] where by the L.A~ Act in its application to the
H State of Uttar Pradesh, in so far as it relates to acquisitions of land except
U.P.AVASEVAMVIKASPARISHADv. JAINULISLAM[S.C. AGRAWAL,J] 265

for the purposes of the Union, had been amended and it was to have effect A
)- in the State subject to the amendments specified in the Schedule to the 1954
Act. One of amendments that was so introduced was in Section 23 of the L.A.
Act whereby the following explanation was added in clause (I) of Section 23:-

"Explanation.-In judging the market value aforesaid in any case.
where the land acquired for or in connection with sanitar1 improvement B
or any kind or planned development due regard shall be had to the
insanitary and unhygenic conditions of the land on the date aforesaid."

The other amendment was the deletion of sub-section (2) of Section 23.

By the Land Acquisition (U.P. Amendment) Act, 1972 (U.P. Act No. 28 C
of 1972) [hereinafter referred to as 'the 1972 Act' the L.A. Act, as applicable
in the State of Uttar Pradesh, was further amended and· the Explanation that
was inserted in sub-section (1) of Section 23 by the 1954 Act was omitted and
sub-section (2) of Section 23 which was deleted by the 1954 Act \\'as restored.
This would show that in 1965 when the Adhiniyam was enacted solatium@ D
15% was not payable under Section 23 of the L.A. Act in respect of acquisition
of land in the State of Uttar Pradesh when such acquisition was not for the
purposes of the Union and while enacting the Adhiniyam the Legislature
made provision for payment of such soh1tium. Thus there was disparity in the
. matter of payment of solatium in respect acquisition of land for the purposes
of the Adhiniyam and acquisitions of land under the provision of the L.A. E
Act as applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh where such acquisition was
not f!Jr the purposes of the Union, This disparity stood removed after the
enactment of the 1972 Act whereby sub-section (2) was introduced in the L.A.
Act as applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

By the 1984 Act the L.A. Act has been amended and amongst the F
amendments that have been made the following are relevant:

(i) Sub-section (1-A) was inserted in Section 23 whereby an
additional amount calculated at the rate o.f 12% per annum on the
. market value of land as determined under sub-section (I) of Section G
23 has to be awarded by the Court for the period commencing on and
,from the date of the publication of notification under Section 4(1) in
respect of such land to the date of the award of the Collector or to
the date of taking possession of land, whichever is earlier..

(ii) The rate of solatium payable under Section 23(2) had been H
T
266 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] I S.C.R.

A enhanced from 15% to 30%.

(iii) The rate of interest payable of the excess amount of compensation -<.
under Section 28 had been enhanced from 6% to 9% per annum when
the excess amount is paid within one year of the date on which the
Collector took possession of the land and where the excess amount
B is paid after the expiry of the period of one year interest wou Id be
payable @ 15% per annum from the date of expiry of the period of .,...
one year. ,$

The 1984 Act, being a subsequent parliamentary enactment, overrides
the 1972 Act by virtue of Article 254(2) of the Constitution and as a result
c in the State of Uttar Pradesh in the event of land being acquired under the ·
provisions of the L.A. Act, as applicable in the said State, the land owner is
entitled to payment of compensation and interest in accordance with the
provisions.of Sections 23 and 28. as amended by the 1984 Act. Since there
has been no corresponding amendment in the Adhiniyam the question has .._
D arisen whether the benefit of the amendments introduced in the L.A. A.ct by
).._
the 1984 Act can be extended to land owners whose land is acquired for the
purposes of the Adhiniyam on the basis of the provisions of the L.A. Act
as modified by the Adhiniyam.

In Gauri Shankar Gaur and Ors. v. State of UP. and Ors., [1994] I SCC
E 92, a bench of two Judges of this Court (K. Ramaswamy and R.M. Sahai, JJ .)
has dealt with the question regarding the applicability of the 1984 Act to
acquisition of land under the· provisions of the Adhiniyam in the context of
the first proviso to Section 6 of the L.A. Act which was substituted by the
1984 Act. By the said proviso it had been prescribed that no declaration in
F respect of any particular land covered by a notification under Section 4( I)
published after the commencement of the Land Acquisition (Amendment and
Validation) Ordinance, 1967, but before the commencement of the 1984 Act,
shall be made after the expiry of the three years from the date of the publication
of the notification. In that case the notification under Section 28(1) of the
y

...
Adhiniyam was published in the Gazette on September 8, 15 and 22 of 1973
G and the notification under Section 32( I) of the Adhiniyam was published on
August 27, 1977, i.e., after the expiry of three years. A contention was raised
that the notification under Section 32 was required to be issued within three -<.
years from the date of the notification under Section 28(1) on the basis of the
first proviso to Section 6 of the earlier Act. It was urged that the amendment
H introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act, including the first proviso to
U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHAD1•. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL,!.] 267
Section 6, are applicable to acquisition of land under the Adhiniyam. Although A
both the learned Judges have. concurred in upholding the validity of the
>-· acquisition, but there. was difference of opinion between them on some of the
questions that came up for consideration. One of the questions arising for
consideration was whether the provision of the L.A. Act have been
incorporated by reference in the Adhiniyam by virtue of Section 55 read with
the Schedule to the Adhiniyam and as a consequence any amendment made
B
- -( in the earlier Act after the enactment of the Adhiniyam does not, ipso facto,
apply to an acquisition of the purposes of the Adhiniyam on the basis of the
provisions of the L.A. Act as modified by the Adhiniyam.

Ramaswamy J. was of the view that Section 55 of the Adhiniyam read c
with the Schedule made an express incorporation of the provisions of Section
4(1) and Section 6 as modified and incorporated in the Schedule and that the
Schedule effected necessary structural amendments to Sections 4,5, 17 and 23
incorporating therein the procedure and principles with necessary modifications
and that it is a complete code in itself. He, therefore, held that Section 55 and
the Schedule adopted only by incorporation Sections 4(1) and 6(1) and the D
...<.
subsequent amendments to Section 6 did not become part of the Adhiniyam
and they have no effect on the operation of the provisions of the Adhiniyam.
Sahai J., however, took a contrary view. He was of the opinion that whether
a legislation was by way of incorporation or by way of reference is more a
matter of construction by the courts keeping in view the language employed
E
by the enactment, the purpose of referring or incorporating provisions of an
existing Act and the effect of it on the day to day working. According to the
learned Judge such legislation by incorporation is subject to exceptions and
that one such situation where legislation by incorporation is excluded is if it
creates difficulty in day to day working. The learned Judge was of the view
that in our constitutional set up the exception can be extended further and F
~ the Courts should lean against a construction which may result in
discrimination. He, therefore, held that the amendments introduced in the L.A.
Act by the 1984 Act would be applicable to acquisition of land for the
purpose of the Adhiniyam and restriction of three years added by the first
proviso to Section 6 of the L.A. Act was applicable to acquisition for the
purposes of the Adhiniyam also. The learned Judge, however, took note of
G
the fact that the Parishad had entered into possession and had constructed
housing colonies as there was no interim order in favour of the land owners
during pendency of the writ petitions in the High Court and observed that
larger social interest requires this Court to mould the relief in such manner
that justice may not suffer. He, therefore, held that even though publication H
!......
' ,
268 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A of declarations under the Act were beyond the period of three years it was
not in the interest of justice to quash the proceedings but the land owners
should be paid compensation of the land acquired on market value prevalent
in the year in which the declaration analogous to Section 6 of the earlier Act
was published/issued by fictionally assuming that fresh notification under the
B Act analogous to Section 4 was issued in that year.

Another question that came up for consideration in Gauri Shankar r- ~
Gaur (supra) was whether the provisions contained in the L.A. Act, as
amended by Section 55 read with the Schedule to the Adhiniyam, have ceased
to operate after the enactment of the 1984 Act in view of Article 254 of the
c Constitution for the reason that the provisions contained in the Adhiniyam
are repugnant to the provisions contained in the L.A. Act as amended by the
1984 Act. Ramaswamy J. has dealt with this question and has held that the
Adhiniyam was a law made under Entry 6, Entry 5 and Entry 66 of List 11
(State List) and incidentally it took recourse to Entry 42 of List III (Concurrent
List) and that since the main purpose of the Adhiniyam was not the acquisition
D of the property, as the provisions do indicate in pith and substance that they
did not occupy the same field, it was not fully inconsistent and were not k

absolutely irreconcilable with the L.A. Act as amended by the 1984 Act and
that the Adhiniyam and the earlier Act both do co-exist in relation to the
procedure prescribed under both these Acts and the Adhiniyam did co-exist
independently with out in any was colliding with the earlier Act and, therefore,
E Sectiou 55 and the Schedule did not become void under the proviso to Article
254 (2) of the Constitution. Sahai J. has, however, not considered the said
question of tepugnancy of the Adhiniyam to the L.A. Act as amended by the ·
1984 Act.

F Since there was difference of opinion between the learned Judges the
question regarding the applicability of the 1984 Act to acquisitions for the
r
purpose of the Adhiniyam in Gauri Shankar Gaur (supra), these matters
have been directed to be heard by a Bench of three Judges and that is how
these matters have come up before us.

G Shri S.B. Sanyal, the learned senior counsel appearing for the Parishad,
has placed reliance on the judgment of Ramaswamy J. in Gauri Shankar Gaur
(supra) and has urged that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as modified by the
Schedule to the Adhiniyam, have been incorporated into the Adhiniyam and
as a consequence of such incorporation the provisions of the L.A. Act as
H modified must be read as a part of the Adhiniyam itself and any amendment
y
U.P. A VAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHAD v. JAINULISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J.] 269

made in the L.A. Act after the enactment of the Adhiniyam would not, ipso A
facto, apply so as to have the effect of modifying those provisions contained
in the Adhiniyam and, therefore, the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act
by the 1984 Act would not apply to an acquisition made for the purposes of
the Adhiniyam on the basis of the provisions of L.A. Act as modified by the
Adhiniyam. On behalf of the land owners reliance has been placed on the B
judgment of Sahai J. in Gauri Shankar Gaur (supra) and has been submitted
that the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act are applicable
to an acquisition for the purposes of the Adhiniyam.

A subsequent legislation often makes a reference to an earlier legislation
so as to make the provisions of the earlier legislation applicable to matters C
covered by the later legislation. Such a legislation may either be (i) a referential
legislation which merely contains a reference to or the citation of the provisions
of the earlier statute; or (ii) a legislation by incorporation where under the
provisions of the earlier legislation to which reference is made are incorporated
into the later legislation by reference. If it is a referential legislation the D
~ provisions of the earlier legislation to which reference is made in the subsequent
legislation would be applicable as it stands on the date of application of such
earlier legislation to matters referred to in the subsequent legislation. In other
words, any amendment made in the earlier legislation after the date of enactment
of the subsequent legislation would also be applicable. But if it is a legislation E
by incorporation the rule of construction is that repeal of the earlier statute
which is incorporated does not affect operation of the subsequent statute in
which it has been incorporated. So also any amendment in the statue which
has been so incorporated that is made after the date of incorporation of such
statute does not affect the subsequent statute in which it is incorporated and
the provisions of the statue which have been incorporated would remain the F
.....-· same as they were at the time of incorporation and the subsequent amendments
are not to be read in the subsequent legislation. In the words of Lord Esher,
M.R., the legal effect of such incorporation by reference "is to write those
sections into the· new Act just as if they had been actually written in it with
the pen or printed in it, and, the moment you have those clauses in the later G
Act, you have no occasion to refer to the former Act at all." [See : Wood's
Estate, Re, (1886) 31 Ch D 607. at p. 615]. As to whether a particular
legislation falls in the category of referential legislation or legislation by
incorporation depends upon the language used in the statute in which reference
is made to the earlier legislation and other relevant circumstances. The legal H
270 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] I S.C.R.

A position has been thus summed up by this Court in State of Madhya Pradesh
I
v. M V Narasimhan, [l 976] 1 SCR 6 :-"

"where a subsequent Act incorporates provisions of a previous Act
then the borrowed provisions become an integral and independent
part of the subsequent Act and are totally unaffected by any repeal
B or amendment in the previous Act. This principle, however, will not
a:iply in the following cases :

(a) Where the subsequent Act and the previous Act are supplemental
to each other,

c (b) where the two Acts are in pari materia;

(c) where the amendment in the previous Act, if not imported into
the subsequent Act also, would render the subsequent Act
wholly unworkable and ineffectual; and
D (d) where the amendment of the previous Act, either expressly or by
l..._
necessary intendment, applies the said provisions to the
subsequent Act." [p. 14]

Section 55 of the Adhiniyam makes a reference to the provisions of the
E L.A. Act, as amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh, and has laid down
that any 1an.d or any interest therein required by the Parishad for any of the
purposes of the Adhiniyam may be acquired under the provisions of the L.A.
Act as amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh which fonhis purpose has
to be subject to the modifications specified in the Schedule to the Adhiniyam.
A number of modifications have been made in the various provisions of the
F
L.A. Act that have been made applicable in respect of acquisition for the
purposes of the Adhiniyam. The publication of the notification under Section ~
-.
28(1) of the Adhiniyam has been equated with a notice under sub-section (I) ..0::.:
of Section 4 of the L.A. Act and the publication ofa notification under Section
32(1) of the Adhiniyam has been equated with a declaration under Section 6
G of the L.A. Act. As regards compensation modification has been made by
inserting sub-section (2) in Section 23 of the L.A. Act, as it was applicable
in the State of Uttar Pradesh. As pointed out earlier, in the L.A. Act, in its
--<.
application to the State of Uttar Pradesh, in so far as it related to acquisitions '
of land except for the purposes of the Union, sub-section (2) of Section 23
H had been deleted by virtue of the 1954 Act and there was no provision for
U P. AV AS EVAM VIKAS PARISHAD v. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J.] 271

payment of solatium. A provision for payment of solatium @ 15% was A
introduced by a modification made in the Schedule to the Adhiniyam and sub-
section (2) was inserted in Section 23 of the L.A. Act in its application to
acquisition for the purposes of the Adhiniyam.

Provisions similar to Section 55 of the Adhiniyam are found in other
enactments providing for urban improvement. One such enactment was the B
Calcutta Improvement Act, 1911, where under the Board to Trustees of the
Calcutta Improvement Trust was entrusted with very wide powers for the
purpose of carrying improvements schemes within the municipal limits of
Calcutta. The said powers included the power of compulsory acquisition of
land. In Part 4 of the said Act it was provided that the Trustees may make C
such acquisitions under the L.A. Act but the L.A. Act was modified for the
purposes of the Calcutta Improvement Trust. The modifications were contained
partly in the body of the Improvement Act and partly in a Schedule attached
to the Improvement Act. One of the departures from the L.A. Act was that
under the Improvement Act a Tribunal was constituted to take the place of
a Court under the L.A. Act except for the purposes of Section 54 of the said D
Act and as a consequence there was no general right of appeal to the High
Court which right was available under the L.A. Act. By an amendment made
contemporaneously by Act 18 of 1911 passed by the Governor-General in
Council the Calcutta Improvement Act was amended and a right of appeal to
the High Court from the Tribunal was conferred. Subsequently by Act 19 of E
1921 an amendment was introduced in the L.A. Act whereby a right of appeal
to His Majesty in Council from any decree passed by the High Court on
appeal from an award of the Court was conferred. In Secretary of State v.
Hindustan Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd., AIR (1931) PC 149, a question
arose whether the said amendment in the L.A. Act was applicable so as to
confer a right of appeal to the Privy Council against the judgment of the High F
Court in an appeal from the Tribunal. The said question was answered in the
negative by the Privy Council. After referring to Part 4 of the Calcutta
Improvement Act and the modifications that were made in the L.A. Act, their
Lordships observed:-

"The modifications are contained partly in the body of the Act and G
partly in a schedule attached to the Act. They are numerous and
substantial and the effect is, in their Lordships' opinion to enact for
the purposes of.the local Act a special law for the acquisition of land
· by the trustees within the limited area over which their powers extend.
[pp. 150, 151] H
272 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998) I S.C.R.

A "Their Lordships' regard the local Act as doing nothing more than
incorporating certain provisions from an existing Act, and for
convenience of drafting doing so by reference to that Act, instead of
setting out for itself at length the provisions which it was desired to
adopt" [p.152)

B It was held that the amendment that was introduced in the L.A. Act in
1921 could not be regarded as incorporated in the Calcutta Improvement Act r
because the same was not part of the L.A. Act when the Calcutta Improvement
Act was passed, nor in adopting the provisions of the L.A. Act was there
anything to suggest that the Bengal Legislature intended to bind themselves
C to any future additions which might be made to the L.A. Act and that Act
19 of 1921 also did not contain any provision that the amendments enacted
by it were to be treated as in any way retrospective or were to be regarded
as affecting any other enactment than the L.A. Act itself.

The provisions of Section 55 read with the Schedule to the Adhiniyam
D are on the same lines as those contained in the Calcutta Improvement Act,
1911 and the principles laid down in Secretory of State v. Hindustan Co-
operative Insurance Society Ltd., (supra) are equally applicable to the present
case. The amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act were not
part of the. L.A. Act, as applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh, at the time
of passing of the Adhiniyam. The provisions of the L.A. Act, as amended in
E its application to U.P., with the modifications specified in the Schedule to the
Adhiniyam, have, therefore, to be treated to have been incorporated by
reference into the Adhiniyam and became an integral part of the Adhiniyam
and the said provisions would remain unaffected by any subsequent repeal
or amendment in the L.A. Act unless any of the exceptional situations indicated
in State of Madhya Pradesh v. M V. Narasimhan (supra) can be attracted.
F
In Gauri Shankar Gaur (supra) Sahai J. has stated that the language
of Section 55 of the Adhiniyam permitting acquisition on under the provisions
of the L.A. Act, as amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh, with
modifications specified in the Schedule to the Adhiniyam, is widely different
from the language used in the Calcutta Improvement Act and further that the
G decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Secretary of State
v. Hindustan Co-operative· Insurance Society Ltd, (supra) turned on the
principle that specific excludes general. We find it difficult to agree with the
said view of the learned Judge. As noticed earlier by Part 4 of the Calcutta
Improvement Act, 1911, which dealt with the acquisition of land for the
H purposes of that Act, the L.A. Act had been modified for the purposes of the
l -

U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHADv. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, lj 273
Calcutta Improvement Act and the said modifications were contained partly A
in the body of the Calcutta Improvement Act and partly in the Schedule
attached to the Act and on that basis it was held by the Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council that the effect of the said provisions was to enact for
the purposes of the Calcutta Improvement Act a special law for acquisition
of land by the trustees within the limited area over which their powers B
extended and the Calcutta Improvement Act was regarded as doing nothing
more than incorporating certain previsions from an existing Act and for
convenience of drafting doing so by reference to that Act, instead of setting
out for itself at length the provisions which it was desired to adopt. The
scheme of Section 55 read with the Schedule to the Adhiniyam is not very
different. C

As regards the exceptional situations referred to in State of Madhya
Pradesh v. M. V. Narasimhan (supra), it may be stated that the Adhiniyam and
the L.A. Act cannot be regarded supplemental to each other. The Adhiniyam
contains provisions ~egarding acquisition of land which are complete and
self-contained. Nor can the provisions in the Andhiniyam be said to be in D
pari materia with the L.A. Act because the Adhiniyam also deals with
matters which do not fall within the ambit of the L.A. Act. It cannot also be
said that the 1984 Act, expressly or by necessary intendment, applies the said
amendments to the Adhiniyam. Can it be said that if the amendments made
in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act are not incorporated in the Adhiniyam it E
would be rendered unworkable ? Sahai J. has expressed the view that the
exceptional situations referred to in State of Madhya Pradesh v. M V.
· Narasimhan, (supra) can be extended further in our constitutional set up and
that the courts should lean against a construction which may result in
discrimination. In the impugned judgment the High Court has observed that
while persons whose lands were acquired under the Land Acquisition Act F
were entitled to all statutory benefits under Section 23(1-A) and Section 23(2)
and interest got the said benefits as per the 1984 Aci:, similar benefits are
denied in the matter of determination of market value of the land acquired by
application of provision of the Adhiniyam and that it would be discriminatory
and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution and that the court should
G
interpret the provisions of a law to favour constitutionality rather than interpret
it so as to be violative of he fundamental rights guaranteed under the
Constitution.

The learned counsel for the land owners have urged that if the provisions
of the L.A. Act, as they stood on the date of enactment of the Adhiniyam H
274 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1998] l S.C.R.

A without the amendments introduced by the 1984 Act relating to determination
payment of compensation are held to be incorporated in the Adhiniyam the
provisions of the Adhiniyam incorporating the provisions of the L.A. Act
would be rendered unconstitutional as being violative of Article 14 of the
Constitution. Reliance has been placed on the decision of this Court in
Nagpur Improvement Trust & Anr. v. Vithal Rao & Ors., (1973] 3 SCR 3. On
B behalf of the Parishad it has, however, been urged that in proceedings arising
from a reference under Section 18 it is not open to the claimants to raise the
question regarding constitutional validity of the provisions of the Adhiniyam
under which the reference has been made. It has been pointed out that the
L.A. Act was enacted by Parliament while the Adhiniyam was enacted by the
C Uttar Pradesh. State Legislature and that Article 14 cannot be invoked when
the alleged discrimination arises on the basis of laws made by two different
legislative bodies. It has also been urged that merely because under the
provisions of the L.A. Act, as modified by the Schedule to the Adhiniyam
which are applicable in the matter of acquisition of land for the purposes of
the Adhiniyam, solatium is payable @ 15% and not @ 30% and interest is
D payable @ 6% and not @ 9% and 5%, as provided in the L.A. Act as
amended by the 1984 Act, would not render the acquisition proceedings taken
under the Adhilliyam to be unconstitutional. In support of the said submissions
reliance has been placed on the decisions of this Court in State of Madhya
Pradesh v. G.C. Mandawar, [1955] 1 SCR 599; Prakash Amichand Shah v.
E State of Gujarat & Ors., [1985] Supp. 3 SCR 1025 and Union ofIndia v. Hari
Krishan Khosla (dead) by Lrs., [1993] Supp. 2 SCC 149.

It is no doubt true that in an appeal arising from a reference under
Section 18 of the L.A. Act it is not open to the claimants to challenge the
validity of the provisions of the law under which the reference has been made.
F But, at the same time, while construing the provisions of the Adhiniyam
providing for acquisi!ion of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam, we
cannot lose sight of the settled principle of statutory construction that "if
certain provisions of law, construed in one way, wou Id make them consistent
with the Constitution and another interpretation would render them
G unconstitutional, the Court would lean in favour of the former construction."
See: Kedar Nath Singh v. State ofBihar, [1962] Supp. 2 SCR 769, at pp, 808,
809. We would, therefore, examine whether the provisions of the Adhiniyam
if they are so construed as to incorporate the provisions of the L.A. Act as
it stood on the date of enactment of the Adhiniyam without the amendments
introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act relating to determination and
H payment of compensation would be violative of the provisions of Article I4
U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHADv. JAIN UL ISLAM [SC AGRAWAL, J] 275
of the Constitution. In this context, it may be stated that if the provisions are A
construed as indicated above an owner whose land is acquired for the purpose
of the Adhiniyam would be entitled to payment of solatium under Section
23(2) of the L.A. Act @ 15% and interest under Section 28 of the L.A. Act
@ 6% but an owner whose lands are acquired under the provisions of the
. L.A. Act as amended by the 1984 Act would be entitled to payment of
solatium @ 30% and interest @ 9% and 15% and would also be entitled to B
payment of additional amount as per the provisions of Section 23(1-A) of the
L.A. Act, as amended. In other words, the compensation payable to the owner
whose land is acquired for the purposes of the Adhiniyam would be less than
the compensati,m payable to the owner whose land is acquired under the L.A.
Act as amended by the 1984 Act. ls there any rational basis for treating the C
two land owners differently in the matter of payment of compensation for the
acquisition of their lands?

This question came up for consideration in Nagpur Improvement Trust
· & Anr. (supra) decided by a special Bench of seven Judges of this Court.
Section 59 of the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act, 1936 provided that the D
Trust may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, acquire land
upder the provisions of the L.A. Act, as modified by the provisions of the
Improvement Trust Act, for carrying out any of the purposes of the
Improvement Trust Act. By Section 61 certain express provisions were made
in the matter of acquisition for the purpose of acquisition of land under the E
L.A. Act and it was also laid down that "the Act shall be subject to the further
modifications as indicated in the Schedule". The Schedule to the Improvement
Trust Act contained various modifications. Among the modifications made in
the Schedule was the substitution of sub-section (2) of Section 23 of the L.A.
Act and as a result the applicability of the provisions of the sub.-section (2)
of Section 23 of the L.A. Act were made inapplicable to lands other than those F

-
specified therein. The cons~itutional validity of the provisions of the
Improvement Trust Act, in so far as the same related to acquisition of land,
was challenged on the ground that same were violative of the right to equality
·guaranteed under Article 14.ofthe Constitution inasmuch as the said provisions
empowered the acquisition of land at prices lower than those that would have
been payable if the lands had been acquired under. the L.A. Act The said
G
challenge was upheld by the High Court and the provision contained in the
Improvement Trust Act, whereby Section 23 of the L.A. Act, as applicable to
acquisition for the. purpose of the Improvement Trust Act, were struck down
on the ground of ~iolaticin of Article 14 of the Constitution. The said decision
of the High. Court was upheld by this Court. This . Court has referred to H
276 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A Section 17-A which had been inserted by way of modification as per the
Schedule to the Improvement Trust Act and wherein it was provided that "in
every case referred to in Section 16 or Section 17, Collector shall, upon
payment of the cost of acquisition, make over charge of the land to the Trust
and the land shall thereupon vest in the Trust, subject to the liability of the
Trust to pay any further costs which may be incurred on account of its
B acquisition". It was held that in view Section 17-A, as inserted by Paragraph
6 of the Schedule to the Improvement Trust Act, it was quite clear that the
acquisition will be by the Government and it is only on payment of the cost
of acquisition to the Government that the lands vest in the Trust and though
the acquisition is for the Trust and may be at its instance, but nevertheless
C the acquisition is by the Government. It was pointed out that the Government
could thus acquire for a housing accommodation scheme either under the
L.A. Act or under the Improvement Trust Act and, if it were so, it would
enable the State Government to discriminate between one owner equally
situated from another owner. it was observed :-

D "Article 14 confers an individual right and in order to justify a
classification there should be something which justifies a different
treatment to this individual right. It seems to us that ordinarily a
classification based on the public purpose is not permissible under
Art. 14 for the purpose of detertnining compensation. The position is
different when the owner of the land himself is the recipient of benefits
E from an improvement scheme, and the benefits to him is taken into
consideration in fixing compensation. Can classification be made on
the basis of the authority acquiring the land ? In other words can
different principles of compensation be laid if the land is acquired for
or by an Improvement Trust or Municipal Corporation or the
F Government ? It seems to us that the answer is in the negative
because as far as the owner is concerned it does not matter to him
whether the land is acquired by one authority or the other."

"It is equally immaterial whether it is one Acquisition Act or another
Acquisition Act under which the land is acquired. If the existence of
G two Acts enables the State to give one owner different treatment from
another ·equally situated the owner who is discriminated against, can
claim the protection of Art. 14." [p.48]

The provisions of the Adhiniyam are very similar to those contained in
the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act. Section 55 of the Adhiniyam is similar
H to Section 59 of the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act inasmuch as both the
/

UP. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARISHADv. JAINULISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J.] 277
provisions provide for modifications being made in the L.A. Act. Section 17- A

.. }
..J
.
A that has been inserted in the L.A. Act by the modifications made by the
Adhiniyam is in the same terms as Section 17-A which was inserted by
Paragraph 6 of the Schedule to the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act. The
reasons which weighed with this Court in striking down the provisions of the
Nagpur Improvement Trust Act whereby Section 23 of the earlier Act had
been modified in its application for the purpose of acquisition under the said B
" ·-: Act would, therefore, equally apply while considering the constitutional validity
of the provisions of the Adhiniyam where under the provisions of Section 23
of the L.A. Act have been modified under the Schedule to the Adhiniyam.

The principle laid down by this Court in State of Madhya Pradesh v.
G.C. Mandawar (supra) that Article 14 cannot be invoked when the alleged c
discrimination is on account of laws made by two different legislatures has
no application in the present case because under the L.A. Act as well as
under the provisions of the Adhiniyam the acquisition is to be made by the
same authority, viz., the State Government ofUttar Pradesh, and discrimination
arises on account of action taken by the same authority.
D
J..
The decision in Prakash Amichand'Shah v. State of Gujarat & Ors.,
(supra) on which reliance has been placed by Shri Sanyal on behalf of the
Parishad, also does not lend any assistance to his submissions. In that case
this Court was dealing with the provision_s of the Bombay Town Planning Act,
1954 as applicable in the State of Gujarat. Under the said Act there were three E
modes for taking over land, namely,(i) acquisition under Section I I for
developmental purposes for .which compensation was payable under the
provisions of the L.A. Act .as amended by the provisions contained in the
Schedule to the said Act, (ii) transfer of lands that takes place oncoming into
force of the final scheme under Section 53 of the said Act for which
compensation is payable in accordance with Section 67 of the said Act, and F

.. -~ (iii) acquisition of land under Section 84 of the said Act which empowered
the State Government to acquire land included in the Town Planing Scheme
at. a subsequent stage where amount was payable in accordance with
provisions of the L.A. Act as amended by the Schedule to the said Act. In
that case acquisition had been made under Section 53 of the said Act and
G
compensation was payable in accordance with Section 67 of the said Act and
there was no provision for payment of solatium. While negativing the challenge
>- to the validity of the acquisition on the ground of discrimination in the matter
of payment of compensation, this Court, after referring to the decision in
Nagpur Improvement Trust & Anr. (supra), has pointed out that the provision
under consideration in that case, viz., Section 59 of the Nagpur Improvement H
278 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998) l S.C.R.

A Trust Act, corresponds to Section 11 or Section 84 of the Bombay Town
Planning Act and that the provisions under Section 53 of the said Act are
not like acquisition proceedings under the L.A. Act and the provisions of the
L.A. Act were not applicable with or without modifications as in the case of
the Nagpur Improvement Trust Act. Section 53 of the Bombay Town Planning
Act contained provisions which are similar to those contained in Sections 38
B and 39 of the Adhiniyam which also provide for vesting of certain public
lands vested in a local authority or private street or square and payment of ~ '
compensation for such lands. A provision similar to Section 55 of the
Adhiniyam was contained in Section 11 of the Bombay Town Planning Act
which provided that the L.A. Act as amended by the Schedule to the said
C Act would apply to the determination of compensation for the acquisition of
such land. Since the CoUii was not dealing with an acquisition under Section
· 1J of the Bombay Town Planning Aci the decision in Prakash Amichand shah
(supra) has no application.

Union of India v. Hari Krishan Khosla (dead) by Lrs., (supra) relates
D to acquisition under the provisions of Requisitioning and Acquisition of
Immovabie Property Act, 1952. Section 8(3) of the said Act did not provide
for payment of solarium @ 15% and interest @ 6% on acquisition of
requisitioned lands. The validity of Section 8(3) was challenged on the ground
that it was violative of Article J4 of the Constitution and reliance was placed
on Nagpur Improvement Trust & Anr. (supra). The said challenge was
E negatived by the Court on the ground that "cases of acquisition of land stood
·on a different footing than those where such property is subject to prior
requisitio!l before acquisition". This decision also does _not lend any assistance.
to the submissions of Shri Sanyal.

Since the present case involves acquisition of land under the provisions
F of the L.A. Act as applicable under the Adhiniyam, it is fully covered by the
law laid down by this Court in Nagpur Improvement Trust & Anr. (supra).
Keeping in view the principles laid down in the said decision of this Court, ...
it has to be held that if the provisions of the Adhiniyam are so construed as
to mean that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as they stood on the date of
G enactment of the Adhiniyam, would be applicabfo to acquisition or land forthe
purpose of the Adhiniyam and that the amendments introduced in the L.A.
Act by the 1984 Act relating to determination andpayment of compensation
are not applicable under the Adhiniyam,would suffer from the vice of.arbitrary
and hostile discrimination. Such a consequence would be avoided if the
provisions of the LA. Act as amended by the 1984 Act, relating to determination
H and payment of compensation would apply to acquisition of land for the
U.P. AVAS EVAM VIKAS PARIS HAD v. JAINUL ISLAM [SC AGRAWAL,J.] 279
purposes of the Adhiniyam. There is nothing in the Adhiniyam which A
precludes adopting the latter construction. On the other hand, the provisions
)-
of the Adhiniyam show that the intention of the Legislature, while enacting
the Adhiniyam, was to confer the benefit of solatium @ 15% by modifying
Section 23(2) in the Schedule, which benefit was not available under the
provisions of the L.A. Act as it was applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh
" at the time of enactment of the Adhiniyam. It cannot, therefore, be said that B
~ the intention of the Legislature, in enacting the Adhiniyam, was to deny to
the landowners the benefits relating to determination and payment of
compensation which would be available to them under any amendment made
in the L.A. Act after the enactment of the Adhiniyam. We are, therefore, of
the opinion that on a proper construction of Section 55 of the Adhiniyam it
must be held that while incorporating the provisions of the L.A. Act in the
c
Adhiniyam the intention of the Legislature was that amendments in the L.A.
Act relating to determination and payment of compensation would be
applicable to acquisition of lands for the purposes of the Adhiniyam. This
means that the amendments introduced in the L.A. Act by the 1984 Act
_)._
relating to determination and payment of compensation, viz, Section 23(1-A) D
and Section 23(2) and 28 as amendment by the 1984 Act would be applicable
°"' to acquisitions for the purposes of the Adhiniyam under Section 55 of the
Adhiniyam.

In view of the construction placed by us on the provisions of Section
55 of the Adhiniyam that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as amended by the E
1984 Act relating to determination and payment of compensation, would be
applicable tQ acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam, it is not
necessary to deal with the submission that if the provisions of the 1984 Act
are held to be not applicable in the matter of acquisition of land for the
purposes of the Adhiniyam the provisions of the L.A. Act, as applicable
under the Adhiniyam, would be void on the ground of repugnance under F
.....
. Article 254 of the Constitution .

As regards the detennination of the market value of the lands in question,
it may be stated that the said market value has to be detem1ined with reference
to August 27, 1983, the date of publication of the notification under Section
28 of the Adhiniyam, which has been equated with a notification under G
Section 4(1) of the L.A. Act. The area of the land acquired is more than 200
acres. It lies within the municipal limits of the city of Meerut and is adjacent
~ to Indira Nagar, Shiv Shakti Nagar and Shiv Sagar Colony. The Land
,
' Acquisition Officer determined the market value at Rs. 30 per sq. yard. The
land owners sought reference clain1i1ig that the market value was Rs. 150 per .
sq. yard. Seven exemplars were filed. The exemplar relied upon by the Parishad H
1
280 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] l S.C.R.

A was a sale deed dated March 31, 1982 in respect of 16 biswas and I biswasanis
of land situated in Mohalla Indira Nagar which showed a price of about Rs. ;(
40 per sq, yard. The exemplars filed on behalf of the land owners were in
respect of plots measuring from 22.22 sq yards to 260 sq yards of land and
the price ranged form Rs. i I 0 per sq yard to Rs. 150 per sq yard. The Civil
Court fixed the market value at Rs. 150 per sq, yard and made a deduction
B of l 0% for development. The Parishad in its appeals before the High Court
assailed the said determination of the marke! value by the Civil Court. Some 'r
of the land owners filed cross-objections assailing the 10% deduction. In the
High Court an application was submitted on behalf of the Parishad for
permission to file certain agreements to sell by way of additional evidence.
The said application was rejected by the High Court on the view that there
c was no material that the said agreements had matured into sale transactions
even after eight years of their execution and that the said agreements were
not of any assistance in the matter of determination of the market value. The
High Court has also held that the exemplar submitted by the Parishad could
not be accepted for the reason that therein it was categorically provided that
the purchaser would take the risk of statutory prohibitions, if any, on the
D transfer and that the vendor would not be responsible and that for covering .I.._
the risk, the purchaser will normally demand reduction in the rate. Referring
to the exemplers produced by the land owners the High Court observed that
in respect of land covered in most of the exemplers no evidence of any
deficiency had been brought to its notice. The High Court has pointed out
that admittedly, the acquired land was not developed and it may only have
E the potentiality of development to be used as building sites and while facilities
for drainage, electricity supply, water supply and pucca road are available in
those developed areas, the land which is acquired measuring more than 200
acres does not have such advantages. The High Court was, however, of the
view that as the acquired land is within the municipal limits and is surrounded
by the developed area with buildings and pucca roads and other facilities and
F has the advantage of road passing by the side, it has potentiality of developing
though it cannot be treated to have similar advantages as the land in the ...
developed areas. The High Court has also taken note of the fact that the ><
entire acquired area was used for the purpose of agriculture even in 1983
when the surrounding areas had already developed. In the light of aforesaid
circumstances the High court held that the rates available for land in developed
G area could not be adopted for determination of market value of the acquired
land though they can be used for guidance to determine the market value by
~
taking note of other circumstances as available on record. Referring to the ~
exempler dated February 24, 1983 relied upon by the land owners in respect'
of a plot measuring 260 sq. yards which reflected a rate of Rs. 110 per sq. yard,
the High Court has stated that the said land was below 4 to 5 ft of road level
H and that in the absence of any material as to any other disadvantage; this

t
U.P. AVAS EVAM V!KAS PARISHADr. JA!NUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, l] 281
•
disadvantage of a piece of land could be given due weight to hold that such A
}- small strips of an area of 260 sq. yards in ti· ; acquired land would also have
to be valued at the rate of Rs. 110 per sq. yard. The High Court, therefore,
fixed the value of the acquired land at Rs. 110 per sq. yard. As regards the
development charges, the High Court held that normally when a big area is
acquired for housing project and rate for small strip of land having equal

--.,_'
advantage is available this Court normally provides for deduction of one third B
-~ from the rate and, therefore, it would not be unreasonable to deduct one third
from Rs. 110 to arrive at the market value. The High Court has, therefore, fixed
""" the market value of the acquired land at Rs. 73 per sq. yard. The said
determination by the High Court has been assailed by the learned counsel for
the Parishad as well as for the land owners.
Shri Sanyal has submitted that the High Court was in error in rejecting c
the application for additional evidence filed by the appellants. On behalf of
the land owners the learned counsel have urged that the High Court was in
error in reducing the market value from Rs. 150 per sq. yard to Rs. 110 per
sq. yard and in permitting the deduction of one third. The learned counsel
have placed reliance on the decisions in Kaushalya Devi Bogra & Ors. v. The
Land Acquisition Officer, Aurangabad & Anr., [1984] 2 SCR 900; Bhagwathula D
Samanna & Ors. v. Special Tahsildar & Land Acquisition Officer,
Viskhapatham, [1991] 4 SCC 506 and Meharbad & Ors. v. The State of UP.
& Ors., (i997) 4 SCALE 363.

We do not find any substance in the submissions urged on behalf of
the Parishad regarding rejection of the application for adducing additional E
evidence by the High Court. The High Court, in our opinion, has rightly held
that in the absence of any material that the agreements for sale relied upon
had matured into sale transactions not much assistance could be derived from
them in the matter of determination of the market value of the acquired land.
As regards the grievance of the land owners regarding the determination
..... of the market value of the acquired land, we are of the view that no case is F
,. made out for interference with the said determination by the High Court. In
fixing the value of the acquired land at Rs. 110 per sq. yard the High Court
has placed reliance on one of the exemplers submitted by the land owners
which was in respect of an area of 260 sq. yards showing a price of Rs. 110
per sq. yard. We do not find and ground to interfere with the said determination
by the High Court fixing the value at Rs. 110 per sq. yard. G
'.~ The direction about deduction of one third of the said price towards
cost of development for the housing scheme involving construction of roads
and other amenities is in consonance with the various decision of this Court
wherein this Court has allowed one third deduction in the price towards cost
of development [See: Tribeni Devi & Ors. v. Collector ofRachi, (1972] 3 SCR H
282 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] 1 S.C.R.
(

A 208; Vijay Kumar Mali Lal v. State of Maharashtra, (1981] 2 SCC 719; Special
Land Acquisition Officer, Bangalore v. V. T. Velu & Ors., (1996] 2 SCC 538;
K.S. Shivadevamma & Ors. v. Assistant Commissioner & Land Acquisition
Officer & Anr., [1996] 2 SCC 62 and Basant Kumar v. Union of India [1996]
11 sec 542.J
"" -
In Kaushalya Devi Bogra & Ors., (supra), on which reliance has been
B placed by the learned counsel for the claimants, this Court has laid down that
'r- I..-
for determining the market value of a large property on the basis of sale
transactions for a small property a deduction should be given and that while 'J:
in Special Land Acquisition Officer, Bangalore v. T. Adinarayam Setty, (1959]
Supp. 1 SCR 404, a d~duction of 25% was Indicated, there were certain other
c cases where the view taken is that the deduction should be to the extent of
one third. We are, therefore, unable to uphold the contention that the deduction
of one third which has been allowed by the High Court on the value of Rs.
110 per sq. yard. calls for interference by this Court. We, therefore, do not
find any merit in the appeals that have been filed by the land owners assailing
the determination of the market value at Rs. 73 per sq. yard by the High Court.
D For the reasons aforementioned, the appeals field by the Parishad as
k_
well as the appeals filed by the land owners are dismissed. No order as to
costs.
(8) WRIT PETITIONS NOS. 224197 AND 339197
These Writ Petitions have been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution
E by the Petitioners wherein they have assailed the constitutional validity of the
provisions contained in the Adhiniyam as modified whereby the provisions
of the earlier Act as applicable to acquisition under Section 55 of the Adhiniyam
have been modified in so far as it results in reduction of amount of
compensation payable to the petitioners-land owners.

The ground on which the validity of the said provisions is challenged
F
is that under the provisions of the earlier Act as amended by the 1984 Act ~-

solatium is payable at the rate of 30% under Section 23(2) as amended and
I<
interest at the rate of 9% and 15% under Section 28 as amended, while under
the earlier Act as modified by the Adhiniyam solatium is payable at a lower
rate of 15% and interest at a lower rate of 6% and this amounts to denial of
right to equality and violative of the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution.
G
In view of the construction placed by us on the provisions of the Adhiniyam
relating to acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam, these writ
petitions do not survive and they are, therefore, dismissed. No costs. ....
(C) CIVIL APPEALS NOS. 13191 OF 1996 AND 222 OF 1997

H These appeals are directed against the interim orders passed by the
.. I

U.P. AVAS EVAM VJKAS PARISHAD v. JAINUL ISLAM [S.C. AGRAWAL, J.] 283
Allahabad High Court pending appeals. Civil Appeal No. 13191 of 1996 has A
been filed against order dated August 3, 1986 where by the High Court has
dismissed the application filed by the Parishad for modification of the earlier
order dated December 14, 1992. Civil Appeal No. 222 of 1997 has been filed
against the order of the High Court dated February 7, 1996 whereby the High
Court has dismissed the application for interim relief submitted by the Parishad.
B
It has been pointed out that while passing the said orders the High
Court has proceeded on the basis that the provisions of the L.A. Act, as
amended by the 1984 Act, as amended by the 1984 Act, are applicable and
enhanced solatium@ 30% and interest@ 9% and 15% is payable in respect
of acquisition of lands by the Parishad on the basis of notifications published
under Section 28 of the Adhiniyam. C
In view of the construction placed by us on the provisions of Section
55 of the Adhibiyam· relating to acquisition of land for the purposes of the
Adhiniyam, we do not find merit in these appeals and the same are, therefore,
dismissed. No order as to costs.

(D) SPECIAL LEAVE PETITIONS (CIVIL) NOS, 20601 of 1995 AND D
_A.
20599 OF 1995

These special leave petitions are directed against the judgment of the
Allahabad High Court dated October 28, 1994 whereby the appeals filed by
the Parishad against the judgments of the Additional District Judge, Meerut,
in reference under Section 18 of the L.A. Act have been dismissed. In the
E
impugned judgment the High Court has proceeded on the basis that the
acquisition of land had been made under the L.A. Act on the basis of the
notifications issued under Section 4(1) of the L.A. Act. It has been pointed
out by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Parishad that the
proceedings for acquisition were initiated on the basis of notifications
published under Section 28 of the Adhiniyam and notifications were not
issued under Section 4(1) of the L.A. Act and that compensation had to be F
~ determined in accordance with the provisions of the L.A. Act as modified by
~ Section 55 read with the Schedule to the Adhiniyam and that under the said
provisions solatium was payable under Section 23(2) of the L.A. Act@ 15%
and not @ 30%.

Since in view of the construction placed by us on the· provisions of
section 55 of the Adhiniyam there is no difference in the amount of
G
compensation payable under the provisions of the L.A. Act as applicable to
~- acquisition of land for the purposes of the Adhiniyam and the compensation
payable for acquisition of land under the L.A. Act, the special leave petitions
are dismissed.

N.J. Appeals and Petitions dismissed. H