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Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Anr. v. Mahender Singh & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9596 of 2016)Decided 22 Sept 2016
Civil Appeal No. 9596 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The Delhi government had initiated land acquisition proceedings in 2003, with a Section 6 declaration in 2004 and an award passed in 2006, but neither possession was taken nor compensation paid for years afterward. When the 2013 land acquisition law (which lapses old acquisitions in certain circumstances) came into force, the Delhi High Court declared that this acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the new Act. The government appealed, arguing that a court-ordered stay affecting a neighbouring, separately-notified parcel of land should also excuse the delay on this land.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the "lapse" rule under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act is different from the old law's pre-award lapse rule: it applies only to land for which an award has already been passed, not automatically to every plot covered by the same original notification. Since an award had been made for the respondents' land but neither possession nor compensation followed for over five years before the 2013 Act took effect, the acquisition was correctly held to have lapsed, and a stay affecting other, separately-notified land could not rescue it. The Court dismissed the government's appeal but gave it one year's liberty to start fresh acquisition proceedings under the 2013 Act if it still wished to acquire the land.

Lesson Learnt

Government authorities cannot sit indefinitely on a land acquisition after an award is passed: if compensation isn't paid and possession isn't taken within the statutory window, the acquisition lapses and must be restarted under the newer, more landowner-protective law.

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

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