LegalAware
LegalAware.ai
EMPOWERING LEGAL AWARENESS

Manubhai Sendhabhai Bharwad & Anr. vs Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 61Decided 20 Jan 2023
Civil Appeal No. 472 of 2023
M.R. Shah · M.M. Sundresh · C.T. Ravikumar

Background

A plot of about 10,034 sq. metres at Village Vastral, now within Ahmedabad city, has been under "temporary" acquisition by ONGC for oil exploration since 1996. Manubhai Bharwad bought the land in 2005 and has been receiving rent of just Rs. 24 (later Rs. 30) per square metre per year, while a neighbouring metro-rail body pays Rs. 1,000 per square metre per month for similar land. In 2016-17 ONGC assured the Gujarat High Court it would acquire the land permanently, but nothing concrete happened; a second writ petition in 2022 was dismissed, though the High Court gave ONGC 12 months (until 26 April 2023) to complete permanent acquisition and asked it to consider paying rent at Rs. 1,000 per sq. m. per month from 2005.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court disposed of the appeal with directions. It held that Section 35 of the 1894 Act contemplates temporary occupation for a term not exceeding three years, and continuing a "temporary" acquisition for 25-26 years defeats the very meaning of the word. It is arbitrary, unreasonable and infringes the landowner's right to use and deal with property guaranteed under Article 300A. Since the High Court had already issued a mandamus requiring ONGC to complete permanent acquisition by 26 April 2023, the Court directed ONGC to comply with that order (especially para 7(ii)), warning that "necessary consequence shall follow" if it did not. On rent, the Court noted the High Court's direction to consider Rs. 1,000 per sq. m. per month and added that the landowners may also seek a reference to the civil court through the Collector under Section 34 of the 1894 Act if dissatisfied with the compensation.

Lesson Learnt

The government or a public corporation cannot keep private land under "temporary" acquisition for decades on token rent: a temporary taking must genuinely be temporary, and prolonged occupation without permanent acquisition and fair compensation violates the constitutional right to property.

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

More rulings in Civil Property & Inheritance

Civil Property & InheritanceSupreme Court of India

Sultan Singh (Dead) Thru. LRs v. The Financial Commissioner Govt. of NCT of Delhi

The Supreme Court held that whether a deceased female Bhumidhar's land passes to her own direct heirs or reverts to her late husband's male relatives depends on what her personal law said about her property rights on the date she died, not on the date she first acquired the land. Since the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came into force before Khajano's death in 1973, Section 14(1) of that Act had already converted her earlier limited life-interest into full, absolute ownership. Because she held the land absolutely at death, succession was governed by Section 53 of the Delhi Land Reforms Act (which favours her own direct descendants), not Section 50 (which would have sent it back to her first husband's male lineage). The Court dismissed the appeal by the Reversioners and upheld the High Court's ruling in favour of Khajano's sons.

Decided 9 Oct 2026Read case
Civil Property & InheritanceDelhi High Court

Raghunath (Now Deceased, through LR) & Anr. vs. Bharat Bhushan (Deceased, through LRs) & Ors.

The High Court held that the Will's operative words "my above said property" clearly referred to the whole property, not just the shop, since the testator would have used a narrower phrase like "the said shop" if that was intended. The exclusionary phrase "to the exclusion of all other legal heirs" reinforced this reading, and the separate, differently-worded bequest of another flat (split by percentage shares) showed the testator knew how to limit a bequest when he wanted to. The appeal was dismissed and the trial court's decree upheld.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Civil Property & InheritanceSupreme Court of India

JK Paper Ltd. v. Bipinchandra Natwarlal Shah & Ors.

This is not a final decision on the main case. The Supreme Court disposed of the cross-appeals while leaving valuation and disputed possession facts for the High Court to decide. It continued the stay for two months and required JK Paper to deposit an additional ₹15 crore with the High Court's Registrar General within that period, without prejudicing either side's arguments. A timely deposit would keep the stay in force until further High Court orders; failure would revoke it and allow the landowners to pursue enforcement. The Court rejected the company's argument that a known gorge and waterlogging reduced the usable area, and barred it from raising that issue before the High Court. It requested expedited disposal of the pending compensation appeals, taking account of delivery of the remaining land in November 2025.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Civil Property & InheritanceDelhi High Court

Vijay Pal vs. Bharat Singh (Since Deceased, through LRs) & Ors.

The High Court held that even where no formal title document exists for land in an old village Abadi area, a claimant must still affirmatively prove continuous possession through credible evidence: mere oral assertions are not enough, especially when a court-appointed Local Commissioner's report found the land lying vacant with waste dumped on it. Since this was a concurrent factual finding by two lower courts with no substantial question of law in the appellant's favour, the Second Appeal was dismissed.

Decided 7 Oct 2026Read case
Civil Property & InheritanceDelhi High Court

Smt. Swaraj Chopra vs. Smt. Shanti Devi (since deceased, through LRs) & Ors.

The Court held that even though the agreement fixed no exact deadline for performance, the law still expects enforcement within a "reasonable" period, and under Article 54 of the Limitation Act a suit must be filed within three years of being refused performance or gaining notice of an adverse claim. Since both the demand and the lawsuit came far beyond any reasonable or statutory limitation period, the suit, and this second appeal, were rightly dismissed as time-barred.

Decided 6 Oct 2026Read case
Civil Property & InheritanceDelhi High Court

Ashok Kumar (since deceased, through LRs Pushpa & Ors.) vs. Nirmala Devi & Anr.

The appellants argued that the property had been divided through a family partition and that the concurrent findings on tenancy were wrong. The Court found that the partition defence was unsupported by documentary evidence and was inconsistent with the testimony of the defence witness. It held that Ashok Kumar was estopped under Section 116 of the Indian Evidence Act from denying the landlord's title, and that the decree for possession rested on a proven tenancy and a valid sale deed. Since no substantial question of law arose, the second appeal was dismissed.

Decided 5 Oct 2026Read case