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Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Anr. vs Bhagrati & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 38Decided 13 Jan 2023
Civil Appeal No. 279 of 2023
M.R. Shah · C.T. Ravikumar

Background

Land in Delhi was acquired under the old Land Acquisition Act, 1894, with the compensation award declared on 19 June 1992 and, according to the Government, physical possession taken on 21 March 2007 and handed over to the DDA. A person claiming a 1/12th share in the land, but who was not the recorded owner, filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court saying the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act because compensation had not been paid. The recorded owner had never come forward to collect the compensation, so it remained unpaid. The High Court, relying on the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Pune Municipal Corporation, declared the acquisition lapsed while leaving the question of the petitioner's title open for a civil court to decide.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the Government's appeal and set aside the High Court's order. First, it held that the High Court should not have entertained the writ petition at all when the petitioner was not the recorded owner and her title to the land was yet to be established: a person must first prove a right to the land before claiming its acquisition has lapsed. Second, on the merits, the High Court had relied on Pune Municipal Corporation, which was expressly overruled by the Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority vs Manoharlal (2020). Under Indore Development Authority, a lapse under Section 24(2) happens only when both possession has not been taken and compensation has not been paid; if possession has been taken (as here, in 2007), the acquisition does not lapse merely because compensation remains unpaid. The Court quoted the Constitution Bench's full summary of the law, including that the word "or" in Section 24(2) must be read as "nor"/"and".

Lesson Learnt

Once the government has actually taken possession of acquired land, the acquisition cannot be declared "lapsed" under the 2013 Act just because compensation has not been collected: the unpaid money remains claimable, but the land stays acquired. Also, a person whose ownership is disputed and unrecorded cannot use a writ petition to undo an acquisition before establishing their title.

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

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