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K. R. Sundram alias Sundararajan v. Land Acquisition Officer

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9688 of 2014)Decided 14 Oct 2014
Civil Appeal No. 9688 of 2014
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

Owners sought higher compensation for land acquired for a Tamil Nadu Housing Board scheme under 1983 notifications. The High Court fixed Rs. 2,000 per cent after excluding a sale comparison because the reference court had misstated its details. The owners argued that the corrected transaction still supported the higher valuation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeals and fixed compensation at Rs. 6,000 per cent, in addition to statutory benefits. The High Court's identification of a recording mistake was not a sufficient reason to discard the transaction entirely. The corrected sale value still supported the rate adopted in the relevant reference-court awards. The Court also considered the location and surrounding facilities reflected in the evidence; the rate was for the acquired land in these appeals, not a general compensation tariff.

Lesson Learnt

A transcription error in a comparable sale should be corrected and assessed rather than automatically removing useful valuation evidence. Compensation depends on the reliable evidence and characteristics of the particular acquired land.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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