In Brief
The Supreme Court reviewed the High Court's determination of compensation for land acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. A notification was issued in 2000 for acquiring agricultural land, but no contemporaneous sale evidence existed. The court had to rely on a land valuation from 1989, an 11-year gap. The High Court applied 15% annual cumulative increase over 11 years; the Supreme Court held this was erroneous. For gaps exceeding 5 years, applying high uniform escalation rates is unsafe due to market volatility. The Court applied 8% cumulative annual increase instead, finding 15% excessive and unjustly burdensome to the State. The judgment was set aside and the case remanded for recalculation.
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