In Brief
The Supreme Court decided whether prior land acquisition awards from nearby villages could be used to determine compensation without giving the affected party a chance to respond. The Court held that such awards can only be admitted as evidence if an application under Order XLI Rule 27 of the CPC is made and the opposing party is given an opportunity to adduce rebuttal evidence. The Court also ruled that if a more comparable award from the same village exists and is temporally closer, reliance on a remote award from a different village is impermissible. The Court awarded compensation at ₹491 per square meter along with statutory benefits, applying a 24-25% deduction for development and smallness of the acquired land.
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