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Delhi Development Authority v. Shyam Lal

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8655 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8655 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Another in the same batch of DDA appeals heard together, concerning a finding that DDA's land acquisition against the respondent had lapsed. The Court treated the issue as already decided against DDA by its companion judgment in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016.

Decision Breakdown

The appeal was dismissed in line with the companion ruling, but DDA was given one year to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act by issuing a fresh Section 11 notification, failing which it was directed to return physical possession of the land to the original owner if still in its possession.

Lesson Learnt

The same legal principle: an acquisition that lapses for procedural delay can still be remedied by the authority within a time-bound window set by the court, rather than being an automatic, permanent loss.

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

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