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Delhi Development Authority v. Bati and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8708 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8708 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) appealed against a decision favouring the original landowner, Bati, in a dispute over land whose earlier acquisition had been held to have lapsed. The matter came to the Supreme Court via a Special Leave Petition converted into this appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the issue was already settled against DDA in principle by its earlier decision in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal accordingly. It gave DDA one year to use its liberty under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 by issuing a fresh Section 11 notification to restart acquisition, failing which, if in possession, it would have to return physical possession to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

The right to recover one's land from a lapsed acquisition is a real and time-bound remedy: the authority's inaction within the window set by the Court directly benefits the original owner.

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

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