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Govt. of NCT of Delhi vs. Mohd. Maqbool

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1289Decided 15 Dec 2022
Civil Appeal No. 9229 of 2022
M.R. Shah · S. Ravindra Bhat

Background

Land was acquired via a 1960 notification, with the award declared in 1983 and possession said to have been taken over and handed to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on 4.3.1983. Decades later, in 2015, the landowner filed a writ petition claiming the acquisition should be deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 land acquisition Act because compensation had not been paid. The Delhi High Court agreed and declared the acquisition lapsed, relying on the (later overruled) Pune Municipal Corporation judgment.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court's reliance on Pune Municipal Corporation was no longer good law, since a five-judge Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority vs. Manoharlal (2020) had overruled it and clarified that a deemed lapse under Section 24(2) requires BOTH non-possession AND non-payment of compensation. If either possession was taken or compensation was tendered, there is no lapse. Since it was undisputed on record that possession of the land had already been taken over and handed to DDA back in 1983, one of the two required conditions was not met, so there could be no deemed lapse regardless of the compensation issue. The High Court's judgment was quashed and the appeal allowed.

Lesson Learnt

Under the 2013 land acquisition law, an old acquisition is only deemed to have lapsed if the authorities failed BOTH to take possession AND to pay compensation for five years or more: proof that possession was taken (even decades ago) is enough by itself to defeat a lapse claim, even if compensation was never paid.

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

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