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Civil Property & InheritanceSupreme Court of India

Delhi Development Authority v. Mohinder Kaur Anand and Others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8605 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8605 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

This is another of the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) batch of appeals, here against landowner Mohinder Kaur Anand and others, over the lapse of land acquisition proceedings: again raising the same point of law already decided against the DDA in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 (arising out of SLP (C) No. 8467 of 2015).

Decision Breakdown

Applying its own precedent on the identical issue, the Supreme Court dismissed the DDA's appeal, confirming that the acquisition had lapsed. It granted the DDA a one-year window to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act via a new Section 11 notification, failing which the DDA, if in possession of the land, was directed to return physical possession to the original landowner.

Lesson Learnt

This confirms, yet again, a consistent and uniform Supreme Court approach across numerous similarly situated landowners: a lapsed acquisition is not fatal to the acquiring authority, but it must act within the one-year window granted or lose possession back to the original owner.

Delhi Development Authority v. Mohinder Kaur Anand and Others – Legal Case Shots | LegalAware