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Rajesh Valel Puthuvalil v. Inland Waterways Authority of India

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 6396 of 2014)Decided 15 Jul 2014
Civil Appeal No. 6396 of 2014
Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The appellants' land and buildings in Kollam district were acquired to widen National Waterway No. 3. The reference court increased the building compensation to Rs. 4.45 lakh on an engineer-assisted commissioner's valuation, after allowing depreciation for age. The High Court left the land valuation intact but reduced the building amount to Rs. 3.5 lakh using its own estimate.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the owners' appeal and restored the reference court's Rs. 4.45 lakh valuation of the structures. The engineer's report assessed replacement value and deducted depreciation for the twelve-year-old building. The acquiring authority produced no rebuttal valuation evidence and had not explained its original much lower assessment. In those circumstances, the High Court could not discard the available objective valuation material merely because it considered construction costs high. Its guess-based reduction of building compensation was set aside.

Lesson Learnt

When compensation for an acquired building is disputed, a reasoned professional valuation can be important evidence. A court should not replace an unrebutted valuation report with a lower guess unsupported by competing material.

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

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