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Delhi Development Authority v. Om Apartments Pvt. Ltd. and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8544 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8544 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

DDA had acquired the land in question years earlier but never took physical possession, with no stay in operation. The landowner company obtained a finding below that the acquisition had lapsed under the 2013 land acquisition law, which DDA appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the issue was already settled against DDA by its earlier decision in Civil Appeal No.8477 of 2016 (arising out of SLP(C) No.8467 of 2015) and dismissed the appeal. It granted DDA a one-year window from the date of the order to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings by issuing a new Section 11 notification, failing which DDA, if in possession of the land, would have to return physical possession to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

This is another in the same settled line of DDA land-lapsing appeals: failing to take possession or pay compensation within the statutory window after acquisition can cause the acquisition itself to lapse under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act.

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

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