# ISHWARLAL PREMCHAND SHAH AND ORS v. STATE OF GUJARAT AND ORS

- **Citation:** [1996] 3 S.C.R. 510
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1996-03-15
- **Case number:** Civil appeal No. 6896 of 1996
- **Bench:** K. Ramaswamy, G.T. Nana Vat!
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/ishwarlal-premchand-shah-and-ors-v-state-of-gujarat-and-ors-14050
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Sections 4(1), 5-A, 11(2) (As applicable
in State of Gujarat), 16, 23( 1-A), 23(2) and 28-Fonn NO. 14 presc1ibed
under Rules.
Land Acquisition-Compensation-Solatium and interest-Entitlement
to-Land acquired for benefit of G.I.D.C.-Agreement betwcm land owners
and beneficiary-Owners agreeing to accept compensation @ Rs. 22,587 per
hectare inclusive of solarium and additional benefits payable under the
Act-Omtention that agrnement not as per Fann No. 14 presoibed under
D Ru/es-Award passed in tem1s of the agreement-Challenge to the validity of
award-Claim for solatium, interest and additional benefits-Held in the
circunistances it cannot be said that the essential requ/renients of section
11(2) were not complied with-Award passed was not illegal---Fonn No. 14
would not be relevant in a case where the agreement is between the landE owners and interested pe1wns and beneficiary-in view of the clauses in the
agreement land-owners held not entitled to the payment by way of solatium,
interest and additional amount under the provisions of the Act.
F
G
State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Daya Shamji Bhai & Ors., [1995) 5 SCC
746, applied.

## Text

A
B
c
ISHWARLAL PREMCHAND SHAH AND ORS.
v.
STATE OF GUJARAT AND ORS.
MARCH 15, 1996
(K. RAMASWAMY AND G.T. NANA VAT!, JJ.]
Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Sections 4(1), 5-A, 11(2) (As applicable
in State of Gujarat), 16, 23( 1-A), 23(2) and 28-Fonn NO. 14 presc1ibed
under Rules.
Land Acquisition-Compensation-Solatium and interest-Entitlement
to-Land acquired for benefit of G.I.D.C.-Agreement betwcm land owners
and beneficiary-Owners agreeing to accept compensation @ Rs. 22,587 per
hectare inclusive of solarium and additional benefits payable under the
Act-Omtention that agrnement not as per Fann No. 14 presoibed under
D Ru/es-Award passed in tem1s of the agreement-Challenge to the validity of
award-Claim for solatium, interest and additional benefits-Held in the
circunistances it cannot be said that the essential requ/renients of section
11(2) were not complied with-Award passed was not illegal---Fonn No. 14
would not be relevant in a case where the agreement is between the landE owners and interested pe1wns and beneficiary-in view of the clauses in the
agreement land-owners held not entitled to the payment by way of solatium,
interest and additional amount under the provisions of the Act.
F
G
State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Daya Shamji Bhai & Ors., [1995) 5 SCC
746, applied.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil appeal No. 6896 of
1996 Etc. Etc.
From the Judgment and Order dated 10.9.93 of the Gujarat High
Court in S.C.A. No. 4981 of 1991.
R.F. Nariman, Jatin Jhaveri and H.J. Javeri for the Appellants.
Dr. N.M. Ghatate, Mrs. H. Wahi, Ms. N. Mukherjee, Ms. Anip
Sachthey, J.P. Pathak, H. Munshi and C.D. Singh for the Respondents.
H
The following Order of the Court was delivered :
510
JSHWARLAL PREM CHAND SHAHv. STATE
511
Leave granted.
A
We have heard the counsel on both sides.
Notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act 1of1894
(for short, the 'Act') was published on August 2, 1984 acquiring the lands
situated in village Sarigam, District Bulsar in Gujarat State for industrial B
purpose. Possession also was taken after dispensing with the enquiry under
Section 5-A. It is not necessary to dilate on the proceedings taken earlier
under Article 226 of the Constitution. Suffice it to state that there was an
agreement between the parties that an award could be made under Section
11(2) of the Act pursuant to which the Land Acquisition Officer on June C
4, 1991 made the award in terms of the agreement. The appellant challenged the correctness of the award by filing the writ petition which was
dismissed by the High Court by the impugned order dated September 10,
1993. Thus these appeals by special leave.
This Court by order dated February 28, 1994 issued notice confined D
to the question whether the appellants are entitled to solatium, interest and
additional amount under Sections 23(2), 28 and 23 (1-A) of the Act. The
respondents have filed their counter-affidavit contending that in view of the
agreements entered by the appellants on January 2, 1981 and subsequent
agreement dated March 8, 1985, which have been filed as sample agreeE
ments this Court, the appellants are not entitled to the payment of interest,
solatium and additional amounts under the Act.
Shri R.F. Nariman, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants, contended that the award passed by the Collector is not in conformity
with Section 11(2) of the Act in as much as the agreements were not F
executed before the Collector and they were not in the prescribed form.
He drew our attention to Form No. 14, prescribed by the Rules and
submitted that as disclosed by the Form itself, such an agreement has to
be executed by owner of the land in presence of the Land Acquisition
Officer and has to be signed by the Land Acquisition Officer. In the
present case, the agreements executed in 1985 were between the owners of G
the land and GIDC for whose benefit the lands were acquir(d! They were
not signed in presence of the Land Acquisition Officer nor did the Land
Acquisition Officer put his signature thereon. Therefore, the award passed
by the Collector cannot be said to be an award under Section 11(2) of the
Act and, therefore, the appellants are entitled to payment of solatium, H
512
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1996] 3 S.C.R.
A interest and additional benefits payable under the Act. We do not find any
substance in this connection.
B
In this case, the agreements were between the owners and the GIDC
for whose benefit the lands were acquired. Even before the notification
under Section 4 WdS issued, the owners and the GIDC had entered into an
agreement whereby the owners had agreed to part with possession of their
lands so as to enable GIDC to establish Udyog Nagar thereon. Under the
said agreements, the GIDC was permitted to enjoy continuous possession
of those lands till the process of acquisition under the Land Acquisition
Act was to be completed. While entering into these agreements, the owners
C had agreed to accept compensation @ Rs. 6,100 per acre. Thereafter,
Section 4, notification was published on August 2, 1984. While the proceedings were pending before the Land Acquisition Officer, the owners and
GIDC again in the year 1985 entered into separate agreements,
whereunder the Corporation agreed to pay and the owners agreed to
D accept compensation @ Rs. 22, 857 per hectare inclusive of solatium and
additional benefits payable under the Act. These agreements d nly signed
were presented before the Collector. On being satisfied about the voluntary
nature of the said agreements, the Collector passed an award in terms of
those agreements. Under these circumstances, it cannot be said that the
essential requirements of sub-section (2) of Section 11, as applicable in the
E State of Gujarat, was not complied with. Moreover, Form No. 14 as such
would not be relevant in a case where the agreement is between the owners
and interested persons on the one hand and the body for which the land
is being acquired on the other hand. Form No. 14 would apply to a case
where the owners and the persons interested in the land appear before the
F Collector and express their willingness to accept an agreed amount as
compensation. In such cases, the agreement is required to be executed in
the prescribed Form No. 14. Therefore, even though in the present case
the agreements were not in the prescribed form, there being no prescribed
form for a case like this, the award cannot be said to be illegal or void.
G
The owners have agreed in 1985 as under :
H ,
"This agreement is being done in pursuance of the consent agreement that has been arrived at on 27,12,1980 between Shri Hitendra
@ Gautam Prem Shankar Oza of the first part and the Gujarat
H
Industrial Development Corporation of the second part since the
j
ISHWARLAL PREMCHAND SHAH v. STATE
513
price of the land that has been given under the said agreement has A
been fixed at . Rs. 22,857 (Rupees twenty two thousand eight
hundred fifty seven only) per hectare inclusive of solatium and
additional land compensation by way of its consent price. This
agreement is thus being done for that limited purpose. The date
of possession and other terms and conditions mentioned in the B
agreement done on 27.12.80 shall remain the same."
It is true that on determination of compensation under sub-section
(1) for the land acquired, Section 23(2) enjoins to award, in addition to the
market value, 30% solatium in consideration of compulsory nature of
acquisition. Equally, the Parliament having taken notice of the inordinate C
delay in making the award by the Land Acquisition Officer from the date
of notification published under Section 4(1) till passing the award under
Section 11, to off-set the price pegged during the interregnum, Section
23(1-A) was introduced to award an amount calculated@ 12% per annum
on such market value, in addition to the market value of the land, for the D
period commencing on and from the date of the publication of Section 4(1)
notification to the date of award of the Collector or date of taking possession of the land whichever is earlier. Under Section 28, interest was
directed to be paid on the excess compensation at the rate specified therein
from the date of taking possession of the land to the date of deposit into
court of such excess compensation. These three components are in addition E
to the compensation determined under Sub-section (1) of Section 23. They
intended to operate in different perspectives. One for compulsory acquisi'
tion, the other for the delay on the part of the Land Acquisition Officer in
making the award and the third one for deprivation of the enjoyment of
the land from the date of taking possession till determination of the
F
compensation. The 3 components are in addition to the determination of
market value under sub-section ( 1) of Section 23. They are not integral to
determination of compensation under sub-section (1) of Section 23 but in
addition to, for the circumstances enumerated hereinbefore. In a private
sale between a willing vendor and a willing vendee, parties would arrive at
consensus to pay and receive consolidated consideration which would form G
the market value of the land conveyed to the vendee. For public pnrpose,
compulsory acquisition under the Act gives absolute title under Section 16
free from all encumbrances. Determination of the compensation would be
done under Section 23(1) on the basis of market value prevailing as on the
date of the publication of the notification under Section 4(1). It would, H
514
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1996] 3 S.C.R.
A
therefore, be open to the parties to enter into a contract under Section
11(2), without the necessity to determine compensation under Section
23(1) and would receive market value at the rates incorporated in the
contract signed under Section 11(2) in which event the award need not be
in Form 14.
B
This Court in State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Daya Shamji Bhai & Ors.,
[1995] 5 SCC 746 had considered the similar contentions and held that once
the parties have agreed under Section 11(2) of the Act, the Land Acquisition Officer has power nnder Section 11(2) to pass the award in terms
thereof and that the award need not contain payment of interest, solatium
C and additional amount unless it is also part of the contract between the
parties. The same ratio applies to the facts in this case. In view of the above
clauses in the agreements the appellants are not entitled to the payment of
additional amounts by way of solatium, interest and additional amount
under the provisions of the Act.
D
The appeals are accordingly dismissed, but in the circumstances,
without costs.
T.NA.
Appeals dismissed.