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Government of NCT of Delhi v. Shyam Singh

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8719 of 2016)Decided 31 Aug 2016
Civil Appeal No. 8719 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

The Delhi government's Land and Building Department had acquired land from Shyam Singh and another without taking possession or completing compensation within the statutory period, and a finding below held the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. The government appealed against that finding.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held the point was already settled against the government appellant by the lead decision in Civil Appeal No. 8477 of 2016, and dismissed the appeal accordingly. It granted the appellant one year to start fresh acquisition proceedings via a new Section 11 notification, with a direction to return possession to the original owner if that deadline passed without a fresh notification.

Lesson Learnt

The same lapse protection under the 2013 Act that applies to DDA's delayed acquisitions applies equally to acquisitions by the Delhi government's own Land and Building Department.

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

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