- (1.) THE Nagar Mahapalika, Agra acquired certain land for North Vijay Nagar Development Scheme. A Notification was issued under Section 36 (2) of the Town Improvement Act and published in the U. P. Gazette on 29-7-1950. Notification under Section 42 (1) of this Act was published in the U. P. Gazette dated 24-11-1951. The plot in dispute bears Khasra No. 1810 situate in village Ghatwasan, Tahsil-11 Agra, District Agra. Its area is one bigha which is equal to 2756 square yards. The Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation of Rs. 9/8.00 to Smt. Kalawati. Objections were filed by Smt. Kalawati claiming this compensation to be most inadequate. The claim by the objector was Rs. 5.00 per square yard. The Collector then made a reference under the Land Acquisition Act. The Nagar Mahapalika Tribunal, Agra has decreed the claim of the objector for Rs. 11,014/7.00 with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the possession till the date of payment of compensation money vide its judgment dated 26-3-1965.
(2.) AGGRIEVED thereby, this first appeal has been filed on behalf of the Nagar Mahapalika Agra. The main ground which has been argued on behalf of the appellant's counsel is that the Tribunal has erred in law in taking into consideration the potential value of the land in question and that under the provisions of the Town Improvement Act, the use of the land as on the date of the Notification was the sole consideration for the assessment of compensation. In support of this contention, I have been referred to Section 10 of the Schedule attached to U. P. Town Improvement Act VIII of 1919 and also to sub-section (3) of Section 10 which runs as follows:- (3) At the end of Section 23 of the said Act the following shall be deemed to be added namely:- (a) the market value of the land shall be the market value according to the use to which the land was put at the date with reference to which the market value is to be determined under the clause. 3-A. Counsel for the appellant has also placed reliance upon a Full Bench case reported in (AIR 1928 All 147) (FB) Secretary of State v. Makhan Das in which it was held that the market value in assessing the compensation under the Town Improvement Act should be decided only with reference to the use to which the land has been put. Reference has also been made to a decision reported in AIR 1946 PC 132, Babu Kailash Chandra Jain v. Secretary of State. On this basis, counsel for the appellant submits that the impugned order suffers from illegality.
(3.) LEARNED counsel for the respondent on the other hand has brought to my notice a decision of the Division Bench of this Court in First Appeal No. 139 of 1964, Sita Ram v. Agra Nagar Mahapalika, Agra connected with First Appeal No. 140 of 1964, Lala Narain Das Jain v. Agra Mahapalika which was decided on 16-4-1975. The point which has been canvassed by the appellants' counsel as narrated above has been dealt with in detail in this Division Bench case. It has been held therein that the potential value of the land was to be taken into consideration in determining the compensation payable under the Town Improvement Act. Schedule Section 10 of the Town Improvement Act has been declared ultra vires by a Division Bench of this Court reported in 1973 All LJ 656 = (AIR 1973 All 647), Prabhu Lal v. Special Land Acquisition Officer. It is not necessary for me to repeat the details given in these cases cited above. Suffice it to say that the Division Bench case of this Court which has set the controversy at rest, is binding upon me. I find no reason to disagree with this Division Bench case.;