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Delhi Development Authority v. Govind Ram and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8558 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8558 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

DDA appealed against a finding that its acquisition of the respondent's land had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held the issue, in principle, covered against DDA by its judgment in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal. DDA was given one year to exercise its liberty under Section 24(2) to initiate fresh acquisition by issuing a Section 11 notification, failing which it had to return possession of the land to the original owner if it was in possession.

Lesson Learnt

Landowners whose land was acquired on paper but never actually taken over or paid for can successfully invoke the 2013 Act's lapse provision, though the acquiring authority may get one final, time-bound chance to redo the acquisition properly.

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

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