In Brief
Landowners challenged a High Court's determination of compensation for land acquired in villages Mundka and Bakkarwala under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, seeking a 15% annual enhancement on a cumulative basis. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's valuation methodology and flat rate of appreciation, finding that even with a 15% increase and appropriate deductions for development and area considerations, compensation would approximate the High Court's determination. The Court partially allowed the appeals by removing the belting system (differential compensation) for the 1997 notification's category B lands, ordering them compensated uniformly at the category A rate of Rs 2,49,408/- per bigha. The Court rejected claims under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act as inapplicable, since compensation had been long determined and paid.
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