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Anil Kumar v. Union of India & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 256Decided 22 Feb 2019
Civil Appeal No. 1958 of 2019
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

The appellant's father had his house in Bihar fully demolished in 2006 for the Ara-Sasaram Railway Project, and the Railways itself had recommended him for a job under a 2006 Railway Board policy circular providing employment to persons whose homes or livelihoods were substantially taken away by land acquisition. After the father died, the appellant pursued the claim through two rounds of writ litigation in the Patna High Court, but it was rejected on the ground that only a small strip of land (0.06 acres) had been acquired, and the Division Bench dismissed his Letters Patent Appeal, noting that the Railways had not granted employment to anyone for this project.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the authorities had misread the 2006 circular, which disjunctively covers cases where a "large area, house, or substantial livelihood" is taken away, not only cases involving a large area of land. Since the appellant's entire house had been demolished, his case fell squarely within the circular even though the acquired land area itself was small. The Court held there was no valid basis to deny the claim merely because the Railways had no specific local guideline for this project, since the binding 2006 circular already covered the situation, and denying the benefit on a "pick and choose" basis was impermissible. It allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's judgment, and directed that the appellant be granted a Group 'D' post within two months, with age relaxation if required.

Lesson Learnt

When a government policy circular lays down objective criteria for a benefit (here, job-in-lieu-of-displacement), authorities cannot narrow its scope through an incorrect or selective reading, once a person's situation genuinely fits the policy's own words, courts can enforce it even though there is no general right to a government job merely from land acquisition.

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

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