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U.P. Awas Evam Vikash Parishad v. Asha Ram(D) Th. LRS

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 201Decided 23 Mar 2021
Civil Appeal No. 337 of 2021
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice Hemant Gupta · Justice S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

The U.P. Awas Evam Vikas Parishad (a state housing and development authority) acquired over 1,150 acres of land across six villages in 1982/1987 for a housing scheme. The Land Acquisition Officer initially awarded Rs. 50 per square yard, which a Reference Court raised to Rs. 120 per square yard. On further appeal, the Allahabad High Court enhanced this to Rs. 297 per square yard, relying on sale deeds and on compensation awarded for other land acquired roughly five years later for a different authority (the Ghaziabad Development Authority/Noida). The Parishad challenged this enhancement in 51 connected appeals before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in using compensation fixed for land acquired under a notification issued about five years later as the benchmark for valuing land acquired earlier, since market values shift substantially over such a gap and the later acquisition was for a different authority's development purpose. The sale deeds relied upon by the landowners were also not persuasive comparables for the same reasons of timing and location. Finding no reliable evidentiary basis to justify the High Court's enhancement, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order and restored the Reference Court's compensation of Rs. 120 per square yard (plus statutory benefits) across all 51 appeals.

Lesson Learnt

When courts assess "fair market value" for land acquisition compensation, comparable sale instances or other awards must be genuinely contemporaneous and comparable in location and purpose: compensation fixed years later for a different acquisition cannot be mechanically imported to inflate an earlier acquisition's value.

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

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