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Government of NCT of Delhi & Anr. vs. Shakeel Ahmed & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 108Decided 9 Feb 2023
Civil Appeal No. 739 of 2023
M.R. Shah · C.T. Ravikumar

Background

The respondent, Shakeel Ahmed, had succeeded before the Delhi High Court in a writ petition claiming that land acquired from him under the old Land Acquisition Act, 1894 should be treated as having "lapsed" under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, because possession had allegedly not been taken and compensation not paid for a long time. The Government of NCT of Delhi contended that possession of the land had actually been taken as far back as 4 March 1983, and that there was also an unresolved ownership dispute over the land. The High Court, without deciding the ownership dispute, relied on the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in Pune Municipal Corporation vs. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki to declare the acquisition lapsed. The Government appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Pune Municipal Corporation decision relied upon by the High Court had since been overruled by a five-judge Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority vs. Manoharlal (2020), which clarified that a deemed lapse under Section 24(2) requires that authorities failed on both counts, neither took possession nor paid compensation, for five years or more before 1 January 2014. Since the Government's specific case was that possession had already been taken in 1983, the Court held the High Court's finding of lapse was unsustainable without even needing to resolve the ownership dispute. It quashed and set aside the High Court's judgment and allowed the appeal, with no order as to costs. (The same judgment simultaneously disposed of four other connected NCT of Delhi land acquisition appeals on identical reasoning.)

Lesson Learnt

A declaration that land acquisition has "lapsed" for non-payment or non-possession requires proof that authorities failed on both counts, not just one; and a legal position once considered settled can be overturned by a later, larger Constitution Bench, which can reopen matters decided under the earlier (now-overruled) precedent.

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

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