Legal Victory for Farmers: Supreme Court Explains How to Calculate Fair Land Acquisition Value
The Supreme Court held that when multiple sale exemplars exist, the highest bona fide transaction must be used to determine market value for compensation, and averaging is impermissible unless prices fall within a narrow range. The Court emphasized that certified sale deeds have presumptive value under Section 51A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the absence of rebuttal evidence strengthens their validity.
Facts Of The Case:
The appellants were farmers whose land, Survey Nos. 103 and 104 admeasuring 16.79 Hectares in Village Pungala, Parbhani, Maharashtra, was acquired in the early 1990s under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, 1961 for setting up an industrial area near Jintur town. The Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at Rs. 10,800 per acre in an award dated...
