THE SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER, DAVANGERE vs P. VEERABHADARAPPA ETC. ETC.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the 'market value' of the land is determined based on the price it could fetch at the time of notification under Section 4(1). The Court established that compensation should be based on expert opinions, recent bona fide transactions, or capitalized profits, with the latter method only applicable when no other evidence is available. The Court upheld the High Court's valuation method, affirming the compensation amounts for wet agricultural lands and arecanut gardens as reasonable.