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Aligarh Development Authority v. Megh Singh & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4821 of 2016)Decided 5 May 2016
Civil Appeal No. 4821 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Aligarh Development Authority had begun acquiring the respondent's land in 2004 using the "emergency clause" of the old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, but never actually passed a formal compensation award even after several years. The Allahabad High Court quashed the entire acquisition, mainly because no award had been passed within a reasonable time despite the emergency procedure having been invoked. While the matter was pending before the Supreme Court, the landowner additionally argued that the acquisition should be treated as having "lapsed" under Section 24 of the newer 2013 land acquisition law, since neither compensation had been paid nor possession properly taken.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Section 24 of the 2013 Act could not help the landowner here, because that lapse provision only applies where an award had already been made under the old Act, and admittedly, no award had ever been passed in this case. Instead, the correct legal consequence was that the acquisition proceedings would continue, but the compensation award itself would now have to be determined under the more generous 2013 Act rather than the old 1894 Act. The Court also found the High Court's "no urgency" reasoning questionable given that a residential colony had already been built on the land, but still set aside the High Court's order and directed the Development Authority to pass a proper award and pay/deposit full compensation under the 2013 Act within six months, rejecting the Authority's argument that depositing money with the land office was enough: the law requires the acquiring authority to actively deliver compensation to the owner, not simply wait for the owner to collect it.

Lesson Learnt

If no compensation award has ever been passed, the "automatic lapse" protection for delayed land acquisitions under the 2013 law does not apply, but affected landowners still get the benefit of having their compensation calculated under the newer, more favourable 2013 Act rather than the older one.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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