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Delhi Development Authority v. Puneet Spall and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8699 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8699 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) appealed against a ruling favouring the original landowner, Puneet Spall, in a dispute over land whose earlier acquisition had been held to have lapsed. The matter reached the Supreme Court by way of a Special Leave Petition converted into this appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the issue was already decided against DDA in principle by its earlier ruling in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal on that basis. It gave DDA one year to exercise its liberty under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 to restart acquisition by issuing a fresh Section 11 notification, failing which, if in possession, it would have to return physical possession of the land to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

A government development authority cannot rely on a long-lapsed acquisition to continue holding private land indefinitely: it must either formally restart the process in time or give the land back.

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

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