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Delhi Development Authority v. Devinder Singh

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8663 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8663 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Another in the same batch of DDA land acquisition appeals decided on 31 August 2016. DDA appealed against an order favouring the respondent landowner, the issue being, in principle, already decided against DDA in an earlier case (Civil Appeal No.8477 of 2016).

Decision Breakdown

Leave was granted and the appeal dismissed, following the earlier ruling on the identical issue. DDA was given 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 via a Section 11 notification; otherwise, if in possession, it had to return physical possession of the land to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

The one-year cure period for a defective acquisition is a bright-line rule: authorities cannot ask for extensions or alternative remedies once it is set.

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

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