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Delhi Development Authority v. Yogesh Kumar Gupta and Others

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8610 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8610 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Another in the batch of DDA appeals, this one against landowner Yogesh Kumar Gupta, concerning whether DDA's land acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act. The legal question was identical to the one already decided in the Supreme Court's lead judgment, Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016 (arising from SLP(C) No. 8467 of 2015).

Decision Breakdown

The Court held the issue was covered against DDA by the lead judgment and dismissed the appeal. It gave DDA one year to initiate fresh acquisition proceedings by issuing a new Section 11 notification, failing which DDA, if still in possession, was ordered to return physical possession of the land to the original owner.

Lesson Learnt

Where an acquisition lapses for procedural non-compliance, the authority responsible may still be given a final, time-limited chance to restart the process properly rather than losing its claim outright.

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

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