In Brief
The legal heirs of a landowner challenged a High Court decision that reduced compensation for the acquisition of 0.81 acres of fruit-bearing orchard land. The High Court had applied a multiplier of 8 instead of 15 to the annual value to calculate compensation. The Supreme Court held that the principle restricting the multiplier to 8 (from earlier decisions) applies only when compensation is calculated on multiple counts—market value plus annual yield—to prevent double benefit. Here, compensation was based solely on annual value. Therefore, the Court set aside the High Court's order, restored the multiplier of 15, and ordered payment of additional compensation within two months."
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