In Brief
The Supreme Court considered land acquisition compensation disputes where the High Court had awarded Rs. 13,93,920/- per acre (Rs. 32/- per sq. ft.) for a 30-acre parcel. The landowners appealed for higher compensation based on exemplar sale deeds showing prices up to Rs. 218/- per sq. ft. The Court held that compensation must be determined by averaging comparable small plots sold nearby, not by taking the highest isolated sale deeds. A 40% deduction for development charges was applied, yielding Rs. 60/- per sq. ft. as the fair market value. The judgment affirmed that prudent valuation considers factors like property size, development status, and proximity to roads, not extreme outlier transactions.
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