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Kale (Dead) by LRs. v. Union of India through Land Acquisition Collector

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 601Decided 11 Jul 2017
Civil Appeal No. 3713 of 2007
Justice R.K. Agrawal · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

The landowners' legal heirs claimed that the government had acquired 45 Bigha 3 Biswas of their land in Gajipur, Delhi under 1958-1966 land acquisition notifications, but that they had been paid compensation for only 36 Bigha 12 Biswas: a shortfall of about 9 Bigha. Both the Reference Court and the Delhi High Court had rejected this claim, finding that only 36 Bigha 12 Biswas was ever acquired.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reviewed the land acquisition records and found that government records consistently showed only 36 Bigha 12 Biswas as the acquired extent, including a clarified typographical correction (a "26" that should have read "36") in the reference order. Because the appellants could produce no documentary evidence to support their claim of a larger acquired area, the Court agreed with the concurrent findings of the Reference Court and High Court. The appeal was dismissed for want of merit.

Lesson Learnt

In compensation disputes, claims for a larger acquired land area must be backed by documentary proof: courts will not accept an oral assertion of a bigger acquisition where the official land records and notifications consistently show a smaller, already-compensated figure.

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

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