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Delhi Development Authority v. Gaurav Sahni and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8541 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8541 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had acquired land belonging to the respondent(s) under the old Land Acquisition Act, 1894. A court below had held that this acquisition stood lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act, 2013), because neither compensation had been paid nor possession taken within five years before the new Act came into force. DDA appealed against that finding to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that this issue was, in principle, already decided against DDA by its own earlier judgment in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 (arising out of SLP(Civil) No. 8467 of 2015), and accordingly dismissed this appeal too, confirming the lapse of acquisition. However, on the peculiar facts of this case, the Court gave DDA a one-year window to exercise its liberty under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act and issue a fresh Section 11 notification to restart acquisition proceedings. The Court made clear that if DDA failed to initiate fresh acquisition within that year, it would have to return physical possession of the land to the original owner if it was still in possession.

Lesson Learnt

A government authority that acquires land under the old 1894 Act cannot sit indefinitely on paying compensation or taking possession: if five years pass without either happening, the acquisition lapses under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act, and the original landowner's rights revive unless the authority restarts the acquisition process within the time the Court allows.

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

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