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Delhi Development Authority v. Rathi Steels Limited and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8628 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8628 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Part of the same batch of DDA appeals over land where acquisition had lapsed, raising the identical legal issue already decided against DDA in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 (arising from SLP (C) No. 8467 of 2015).

Decision Breakdown

The Court dismissed DDA's appeal as covered by the earlier ruling, but gave DDA one year from the date of judgment to issue a fresh Section 11 notification and restart acquisition under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. If DDA failed to act in that time and was in possession, it was directed to return the land to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

This case reinforces the same consistent rule applied across the batch: a lapsed acquisition gives the authority a strict, time-bound "last chance," not an indefinite right to hold onto land.

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

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