Cuttack: In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court has quashed the enhanced benchmark valuation of immovable properties across sub-divisions and tehsils of Ganjam district.
Terming the hiked valuation as ‘legally unsustainable’, the HC directed the authorities to undertake a fresh revision process as per statutory provisions.
The verdict was delivered by single judge bench of Justice Ananda Chandra Behera on a writ petition filed by one Manoranjan Behera challenging the legality of the January 2022 valuation orders issued by the district-level valuation committee (DLVC) of Ganjam.
The Court held that the DLVC had overstepped its legal mandate by enhancing property valuations through blanket percentage increases, some allegedly exceeding 100 per cent, without following the procedure laid down under the Odisha Stamp Rules, 1952.
Rules 40 and 41 of the Odisha Stamp Rules only empower the DLVC to revise benchmark valuations for a subsequent two-year period by fixing specific area-wise values, and not through percentage-based enhancements, Justice Behera said.
The power to impose a 10 per cent enhancement in the absence of timely revision lies solely with the collector-cum-chairman of the DLVC, not the committee as a whole, the judge said.
It was also noted that the DLVC’s formation itself was flawed. It failed to show compliance with Rule 37, which mandates the inclusion of a valuation expert in the committee. This procedural lapse rendered the committee’s actions ultra vires.
The increase of benchmark valuation made by the DLVC, Ganjam, based on the recommendations of the SDVC, is not in accordance with the provisions of law, the HC order stated.
While quashing the impugned valuation orders issued by both the DLVC and SDVC, the Court ordered that the valuation committees be reconstituted as per Rule 37 and complete the process of fixing fresh valuations for 2024-2026 within three months.