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Delhi Development Authority v. Veenu Kocher and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8674 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8674 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

DDA's acquisition proceedings over Veenu Kocher's land had not resulted in possession being taken or compensation being paid when the 2013 land acquisition law came into force. The High Court held the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2), and DDA appealed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held the issue was already settled against DDA by its companion judgment, Civil Appeal No.8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal, confirming the lapse. It gave DDA one year to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings through a new Section 11 notification, failing which DDA, if in possession, had to return the land to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

A single Supreme Court precedent on a point of land acquisition law can efficiently resolve many identical pending appeals, saving landowners from having to separately re-litigate settled legal questions.

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

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