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Devender Singh v. State of Haryana & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 382Decided 20 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal No. 4238 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

The appellant's land had been acquired under a 2003 notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, with the District Judge fixing market value at Rs. 20,00,000 per acre, a figure upheld by the High Court. A batch of connected appeals arising from the same notification (lead case Civil Appeal No. 4555 of 2011) had already been decided by the Supreme Court in 2014, enhancing compensation by Rs. 1,00,000 per acre inclusive of statutory benefits. This appeal sought the same enhancement for the appellant's land.

Decision Breakdown

The Court noted that a connected matter arising from the same acquisition had already been disposed of by another Bench on 06.07.2017, allowing the appeal in terms of the 2014 batch decision's enhanced valuation. Following the same approach, the Court disposed of this appeal in identical terms, granting the same enhanced compensation, but with one qualification: statutory benefits (such as interest) were denied for the entire period of delay in pursuing the matter before both the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Lesson Learnt

Where a batch of land acquisition cases arising from the same notification has already fixed the compensation rate, courts will extend that same rate to similarly-placed claimants, but unexplained delay in litigation can cost a claimant the statutory interest/benefits that would otherwise accompany the enhanced award.

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

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