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Delhi Development Authority v. Ved Prakash and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 11581 of 2016)Decided 2 Dec 2016
Civil Appeal No. 11581 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This is another in the same series of land acquisition disputes between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and individual landowners, here Ved Prakash, where the DDA appealed a decision against it. As in the related matters, the Supreme Court found that the controlling legal principle had already been decided against the DDA in its earlier judgments in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 and Civil Appeal No. 5811 of 2015.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court condoned the delay, granted leave, and dismissed the DDA's appeal on the basis of its settled precedent. However, given the specific facts, it gave the DDA a one-year window from the date of the order to initiate fresh land acquisition proceedings by issuing a notification under Section 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, exercising the liberty under Section 24(2) of that Act. If the DDA failed to do so within that year, and was in possession of the land, it was directed to return physical possession to the original landowner. No costs were awarded.

Lesson Learnt

Consistent with the other DDA land-lapse rulings from this period, an acquiring authority that has let its acquisition proceedings lapse under the 2013 Act is given a defined one-year grace period to properly restart acquisition, failing which the land must be returned to its original owner.

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

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