HC enhances compensation to A H Wadia Trust for land acquisition for airport

The Bombay High Court has increased A H Wadia Trust's compensation for land acquisition near CSMIA from ₹74 to ₹169 per sq m, citing fair market value.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has enhanced the compensation granted to A H Wadia Trust for acquisition of 50,000 sq m of its land for expansion of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

HC enhances compensation to A H Wadia Trust for land acquisition for airport

A single judge bench of justice Milind Jadhav on Wednesday held that the trust was entitled to enhanced rates, from ₹74 to ₹169 per square metre, as against ₹12 and ₹14 per square metre notified by the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) on September 23, 1986.

The case involved two land acquisition references (LARs) filed by the trust under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, seeking revision of the compensation.

The first reference pertained to an area of 44,043.89 sq m and the second to 5,831.52 sq m, both comprising five survey numbers each. The SLAO had fixed market value at ₹14 per sq m for the five plots, totalling 44.043.89 sq m, and ₹12 per sq m for the second group of lands. The lands came under the possession of the acquiring body in March 1942 under the Defence of India Act, 1939, while their symbolic possession was taken in February 1986.

Advocates Chaitanya Chavan and Yohaan Rubens of LR & Associates argued on behalf of the trust that the compensation was grossly inadequate and claimed compensation at the rate of ₹90 per sq m for the entire land, based on valuations by their expert valuer.

The lawyers argued that the case should be governed by the amended Section 25 of the Land Acquisition Act, which came into effect from September 24, 1984. They emphasised that the awards were declared after the amendment and the symbolic possession was also taken after the amended section came into force. The timing, they contended, meant that the unamended Section 25 restrictions, which limited compensation to the amount claimed during inquiry, were not applicable.

Justice Jadhav, relying on a Supreme Court ruling emphasising fair and just compensation based on true market value irrespective of prior claims, accepted the arguments advanced on behalf of the trust. The bench held that amended Section 25 would be applicable to the case and, therefore, the trust would be entitled to enhanced compensation.

The court determined the market value of the lands considering expert valuations and revised the rate for the 10 plots from ₹74 per sq m to ₹169 per sq m.