In Brief
The government of Uttar Pradesh acquired land belonging to villagers of Village Makanpur under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The initial compensation of Rs. 50 per sq. yard was challenged and later increased to Rs. 90, and then the appellants claimed Rs. 115 per sq. yard. However, other similarly situated land owners had been awarded Rs. 297 per sq. yard by the High Court. The Supreme Court held that courts must award just and fair compensation based on true market value, regardless of the amount claimed by the land owner. Since a fair rate had been judicially determined for all land acquired under the same Notification, the appellants were entitled to the same Rs. 297 per sq. yard compensation. Technical grounds such as the original claim amount could not deny fair compensation to similarly situated parties.
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