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In cases of land acquisition, farmers and land owners often complain that they did not get the right price for their land. Similarly, giving relief to lakhs of farmers, Allahabad High Court has given a historic decision, which can become an example for the future.
The High Court has made it clear that if someone’s land is acquired by the government, then he should get compensation only on the basis of the highest market value of that area.
What is the whole matter, due to which this big decision came?
This case is from Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. Here, about 6 bighas of land of a farmer named Roop Narayan, resident of Natwa village, was acquired by the State Electricity Board for building a sub-station.
- Compensation was fixed in 1993: At that time the Collector had fixed the compensation at the rate of ₹ 26,624 per bigha.
- The farmer fought a long battle: Roop Narayan said that this price is very low and it is not even close to the real market price of his land. He first challenged this decision in the local court of Mirzapur, but even there he did not get relief.
- Argument given in the High Court: After this, he approached the Allahabad High Court. He presented before the court the documents (Sale Deeds) of other recent land purchases and sales in that area and said that compensation should be given on the basis of the price fixed in those deals.
How did the High Court give its decision in favor of the farmer?
The High Court accepted Roop Narayan’s argument as correct. Three separate sale documents were placed before the court, in which the land price was up to ₹34,125 per biswa.
The court said that if more than one deal has been done in an area, the land owner has every right to get compensation on the basis of the deal with the highest price.
However, since the land parcel in the deal with the highest price was small, the court made some deductions and fixed the new rate of compensation for the farmer at ₹17,062.50 per biswa. This is more than 12 times the old rate (which was approximately ₹1,331 per biswa).
Not only increased compensation, you will also get interest
The High Court also directed that Roop Narayan will not only be given increased compensation, but will also be given additional compensation and interest on it at the rate of 12% per annum.
This judgment is a huge victory for all those farmers and land owners whose lands are acquired for development projects. Now they can use this decision as an example to get the best price for their land.