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Lucknow Development Authority vs. Mehdi Hasan (Deceased) Thr. LRs. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 1275Decided 12 Dec 2022
Civil Appeal No. 8887 of 2022
M.R. Shah · M.M. Sundresh · S. Ravindra Bhat as the second judge

Background

The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) had partly allowed a writ petition concerning a specific plot of land, declaring that the acquisition of that plot had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act solely because compensation had not been tendered to the original landowners. The Lucknow Development Authority's own counter-affidavit before the High Court had stated that possession of the land was taken and formally delivered to it on 13.02.2003 via a Possession Certificate, and that compensation had since been deposited with the District Judge. The High Court's order did not engage with this possession evidence, prompting the Authority's appeal.

Decision Breakdown

Applying the Constitution Bench ruling in Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal (2020) 8 SCC 129, the Supreme Court reiterated that a Section 24(2) "lapse" requires BOTH non-possession AND non-payment of compensation for five years before the 2013 Act came into force, satisfying only one condition (non-payment) is not enough. Since possession had been taken well before the 2013 Act's commencement (in 2003), the twin-condition test for lapse was not met. The Court quashed the High Court's order and dismissed the original writ petition, allowing the Authority's appeal.

Lesson Learnt

For a land acquisition to be treated as lapsed under the 2013 land acquisition law, both possession must remain untaken and compensation must remain unpaid for the requisite period: proof that the government already took possession defeats a lapse claim even if compensation payment is disputed.

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

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