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Delhi Development Authority v. Ajay Singhal and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8647 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8647 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had acquired land that was later the subject of litigation over whether the acquisition proceedings had lapsed. The DDA appealed to the Supreme Court after losing before the High Court, but the Court found the point already covered by its own recent decision in a related DDA appeal (Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016).

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the issue in this appeal was, in principle, already covered against the DDA by its judgment in the connected Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal on that basis. However, taking into account the peculiar facts of this case, the Court gave DDA one year to exercise its liberty under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings by issuing a Section 11 notification. If DDA failed to do so within that year, it was directed to hand back physical possession of the land to the original owner if it was in possession.

Lesson Learnt

Where land acquisition proceedings are found to have lapsed under the 2013 Act, the acquiring authority does not automatically lose the land forever: courts may grant a limited window to restart the process afresh, failing which possession must revert to the original owner.

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

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