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Delhi Development Authority v. Saroj Devi & Others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8599 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8599 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

DDA's acquisition of the respondents' land had not been completed with payment of compensation or taking of physical possession within time. The respondents obtained a High Court ruling that the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and DDA appealed.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held the issue was already settled against DDA by its own earlier decision in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 (arising from SLP(C) No. 8467 of 2015), and dismissed the appeal on that basis. As a concession on the facts, DDA was given one year to issue a fresh Section 11 notification and reinitiate acquisition; failing that, if still in possession, it had to return the land to the original owners.

Lesson Learnt

Years of delay in paying compensation or taking possession after an acquisition notification can cause the acquisition to lapse under Section 24(2), though courts may still allow one final, time-bound chance for the authority to restart the process properly.

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

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