Judgment V.K.Bali, J. 1. State of Punjab in this regular first appeal filed against the judgment dated 16.3.1981, passed by learned District Judge, Gurdaspur, seeks restoration of the compensation assessed by the Land Acquisition Collector, thus, setting aside the order aforesaid enhancing it from Rs. 5000/- per acre, as assessed by Land Acquisition Collector to Rs. 20,000/-. 2. Brief facts of the case reveal that a total land measuring 4 kanals 13 marlas was sought to be acquired by Notification dated 2.2.1977 under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1894). The Land Acquisition Collector, as mentioned above, assessed the market value of the land at the rate of Rs. 5,000/- per acre vide his award dated 7.6.1977. On an application filed by the respondents herein under Section 18 of the Act 1894, learned District Judge has assessed the market value of the land on 16.3.1981 at the rate of Rs. 20000/- per acre. 3. Learned District Judge referred to sale deeds Exs.P9, P6, P7 and P8, fully detailed in paragraph 20 of the judgment. These sale deeds pertain to 9,3.1977, 24,6.1978, 15.6.1973 and 16.11.1979 respectively. All the sale instances, referred to above, are of the agricultural land. Notification issued under Section 4 of the Act of 1894 issued in this case pertains to the year 1977. The potential of the land in the aforesaid sale deeds is far less than the land subject matter of acquisition in the present case, as is evident from the findings recorded by learned District Judge in paragraph 24 need a necessary mention. The same reads thus:- "The perusal of site plan, Ex.R4 gives the location of the acquired land in question vis-a-vis the village abadi of Khichian and the sale instances relied upon by the parties. The acquired land is abutting on the village phirni (circular road) while all the sale transactions, on which the parties are placing reliance, are situated away from the village abadi on account of their location midst the fields none of these lands could ever by expected to be used for residential purposes, On the contrary the acquired land has a great potential of being converted into residential plots and as matter of fact it has been acquired for carving out the plots for the poor section of the society. This basic dis-similarity between the acquired land as the sale instances spells out the outstanding difference in the value of these properties. It is a matter of common knowledge that lands abutting on the village phirni are of immense value firstly on account of their agricultural uses and secondly because of its immense potential of being converted into residential houses, the lands situated around the village fetch double or triple the price of land which is situated off the village abadi. This is so even where the land nearer to the villages has little potential of being converted into residential sites. Such a land if it is suitable for building houses will fetch still higher value. Thus seen the strategic location of the acquired land singles it out in the matter of its market price. Strangely enough neither side has been able to lay its hands upon the sale of any abadi plot abutting on the village phirni. The learned Collector has compensated the land owners by awarding the compensation which is equivalent to the lowest price fetched by any agricultural land sold in the village. This certainly tantamount to doing injustice. As has been discussed above, even the agricultural lands, which are land-located (local-locked?) and are situated far away from the villager abadi, had been selling at rates ranging between Rs. 8000/- to 10,000/- per acres. If that is the position of purely agricultural land, the land adjoining the village abadi, which have great potential value of being converted into residential plots, would certainly carry much more price." 4. The reasons given by learned District Judge, while fixing the market value of the land on the relevant date when notification under Section 4 of the Act of 1894 was issued at Rs. 20,000/-, in considered view of this Court, cannot be faulted at all. The land subject matter of acquisition is far better located and the same is to be evaluated in the matter as has been done by learned District Judge.Finding no merit in this appeal, the same is dismissed, however leaving the parties to bear their own costs.