#tree valuation

The Bombay High Court mandates that compensation for acquired land must follow the market value established in prior reference awards, ensuring consistency across similar acquisitions. It further holds that valuation of trees - including hapus mangoes and jujubee - must be supported by concrete evidence such as sale records or expert appraisal, rejecting speculative or arbitrary estimates. This ruling directly impacts claimants, land acquisition officers, and reference courts across Maharashtra.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld that land compensation for coconut and palm oil trees must be based on verifiable market transactions, not speculative yield estimates, and barred the submission of new evidence after the reference court’s decision under Order 41 Rule 27 CPC. This sets a critical precedent for landowners and acquisition authorities across states relying on the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, ensuring compensation is grounded in actual market data, not conjecture.