The Bombay High Court has apportioned Rs 10.94 crore in compensation for a plot acquired in Prabhadevi for the expansion of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple, directing an equal distribution between the landowners and its long-term tenant, Sadanand Garage.
Justice Amit Borkar valued the 642.98-square-metre property at Rs 1,70,200 per square metre as of September 19, 2002. The land was acquired by the state government for developing a waiting hall and rest house for devotees visiting the temple.
Under the ruling, the owners and Sadanand Garage will each receive Rs 5.47 crore from the land acquisition compensation. An additional Rs 3.85 lakh awarded for the existing structure and trees will be paid entirely to the owners. The authorities have been instructed to release the respective amounts within eight weeks.
The dispute centred on the competing claims of the property owners and the garage, which maintained that it had occupied the entire premises since 1971 and sought 75% of the compensation. The owners, meanwhile, demanded the entire amount.
The court rejected both positions, concluding that the garage had established substantial tenancy and occupation rights but had not demonstrated exclusive tenancy or ownership of the entire plot.
“The owners have proved their ownership interest. But their claim to receive the entire compensation is rejected because the land was subject to the established tenancy and occupation rights of the Garage,” Justice Borkar observed.
Rent receipts, municipal tax documents, electricity bills and business licences were considered evidence of the garage’s long-standing presence and commercial operations.
While determining the property’s value, the court declined to rely primarily on ready reckoner rates, instead considering comparable property transactions, location, road frontage and development potential.
“The Ready Reckoner cannot be the only basis for deciding market value under Section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act. Genuine sale transactions provide better evidence,” the judge observed.
The court also dismissed compensation claims by Century Developers and prospective flat purchasers, finding insufficient evidence of enforceable interests in the acquired land. Separate contractual remedies, if available to the purchasers, will remain unaffected.
Source: The Free Press Journal
