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Delhi Development Authority v. Manish & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4280 of 2017)Decided 20 Mar 2017
Civil Appeal No. 4280 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), as the requisitioning authority, appealed against a decision in favour of the landowner respondents concerning land acquisition proceedings. The central legal question in the appeal, whether the old acquisition proceedings had lapsed, was identical to the issue already decided against the DDA in two earlier Supreme Court judgments (Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 and Civil Appeal No. 5811 of 2015).

Decision Breakdown

Since the issue stood settled against the DDA by binding precedent, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. However, considering the facts of the case, the Court granted the DDA a one-year window to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It directed that if no fresh notification under Section 11 of the Act was issued within that year, the DDA, if in possession of the land, must return physical possession to the owner. No costs were awarded.

Lesson Learnt

Government land-acquiring authorities cannot repeatedly relitigate a legal point the Supreme Court has already settled against them in other cases; but the Court can still give them a bounded window to restart the acquisition process properly, failing which possession must revert to the landowner.

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

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