A. Banerji, J. - (1.) THESE four appeals raise identical questions of law and facts and can therefore be disposed of by a common judgment. All these four appeals arise from Land Acquisition References decided on 31st August, 1977 by the Same Judge Sri Sharda Prasad Srivastava, Additional District Judge, Bijnor in different land Acquisition cases, e.g. 19/70 (First Appeal No. 430/77), 17/70 (First Appeal No. 431/77) 15/70 (First Appeal No. 432/77 and 18/70 (First Appeal No. 433/77). All these References arose out of an Award made by the Special Land Acquisition Officer, Bijnor, dated 14th November, 1969. The acquisition was in respect of a large area comprising of the land of the respondents in all these appeals of village Sada Shivpur Tahsil Nagina Pargana Afzalgarh district Bijnor. The land acquired was notified under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act in the gazette dated 8th July 1967 and subsequent notification under Section 6 was published in the gazette dated 26th August, 1967. In the Award the special land acquisition Officer awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 2000/ - per acre in respect of land known as Khadar TTT. The claimant -respondents were awarded compensation at the above rate for their holdings which had been acquired. Each of them felt aggrieved and applied for reference before the District Judge. The References were heard by the Additional District Judge, who by his order dated 31st August, 1977 enhanced the compensation to Rs. 4000/ - per acre in each of these four cases. The Land Acquisition Officer also awarded solatium at the rate of 15 percent per annum in each of these four appeals. The State has challenged not only the rate of which compensation has been awarded in the Reference by the Additional District Judge but has also challenged the award of solatium by the learned Additional District Judge. It will be relevant to mention here that in the appeals filed by the State of U.P. the relief claimed is couched in the following words: ........To allow the first appeal with costs throughout, to set aside the judgment and award dated 31.8.1977 passed by the learned Addl. District Judge, Bijnor by which an additional amount over and above that awarded by the Land Acquisition Officer, Bijnor has been decreed and to grant such other and further........ It will be apparent that the State has sought the relief in these four appeals to the extent the compensation was enhanced in each case by the learned Additional District Judge in the four References mentioned above.
(2.) I have heard the learned Standing Counsel in support of the appellant's case and have also heard Mr. Rishi Ram, learned counsel for the respondents. There are two questions raised in these appeals. Firstly, the Court below was not justified in law or on facts to raise the compensation from Rs. 2000/ - to Rs. 4000/ - per acre. Secondly, the Court below was not justified in law in granting solatium at the rate of 15 percent of the compensation awarded. I will take up these points one by one. There is no dispute that the land was acquired for construction of Feeder Channel of a Canal, and this involves the land of the respondents. The Special Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 2000/ - per acre. The Special Land Acquisition Officer had placed reliance upon a sale deed executed by one Mathura Singh in favour of Kailash Singh on 30th March 1967. In this sale deed land measuring 7 Biswa situate in village Harveli Ahetmali was transferred in lieu of Rs. 500/ -. This sale deed was treated to be one in close proximity with the period when the notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was executant of the sale deed. Mathura Singh was, however, examined as a witness by the claimants. He had sold the land to the son of his wife's brother, a close relation. Consequently, it is apparent that the price paid for this transaction could not be said to be the market value, for a small piece of land was sold for establishing flour mill for a close relation. Mathura Singh also stated that the disputed land could be sold easily at the rate of Rs. 5000/ - per acre.
(3.) ANOTHER sale deed, which had been produced before the Land Acquisition Officer and relied upon by the State pertained to a transaction dated 22nd April, 1967 through which land measuring 14 biswas situate in village Sadashivpur was sold for Rs. 900/ -. This sale deed also could not be relied, for the land Acquisition Officer himself had come to the conclusion that this sale deed had been executed by the vendor in favour of a near relation and the consideration showed was fictitious. This exemplar had been rejected by the Land Acquisition Officer himself.;