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DDA v. Sukhbir Singh

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8680 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8680 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Another in the same batch of DDA appeals, where DDA contested a finding that its land acquisition against the respondent had lapsed. The Court applied its reasoning from the companion judgment in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016.

Decision Breakdown

The appeal was dismissed in line with the companion ruling, with DDA given one year to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act by issuing a fresh Section 11 notification, failing which it was directed to return physical possession of the land to the original owner if still in its possession.

Lesson Learnt

Same principle as the other DDA cases in this batch: a lapsed land acquisition gives the authority a defined window to restart the process rather than an open-ended right to hold onto land it never properly acquired.

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

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