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Delhi Development Authority v. Mahesh Raheja and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8703 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8703 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) appealed against a ruling favouring the original landowner, Mahesh Raheja, in a dispute over land whose acquisition under the earlier law had lapsed. The matter came to the Supreme Court via a Special Leave Petition converted into this appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Court found the issue was already settled against DDA in principle by its earlier decision in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal. 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

A single Supreme Court ruling on a legal principle (here, on lapsed land acquisitions) can quickly and efficiently settle a whole series of similar individual disputes, without the Court needing to re-examine the facts of each one.

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

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