Mohar Singh (Dead) Through LRs. & Ors. vs State of Uttar Pradesh Collector & Ors.
Background
The appellants' land in village Khora, Ghaziabad, was acquired in 1988, and after a reference court raised their compensation to Rs.106 per sq. yard, other similarly placed landowners appealed to the High Court and eventually got it raised further (to Rs.130, and then to Rs.150 by the Supreme Court in a related case). The present appellants, however, filed their own appeal nearly 13 years late, citing illiteracy and poverty, and the High Court refused to condone the delay and dismissed their appeal outright.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that in compensation matters, an inordinate delay need not be fatal because the resulting unfairness can instead be balanced by denying the latecomers the statutory interest they would otherwise have earned for the delayed period. It therefore condoned the 13-year delay and granted the appellants parity with their co-villagers at Rs.150 per sq. yard, but denied them statutory interest (including on solatium) for the period between the reference court's award and the actual filing of their appeal, and separately rejected their further claim for an even higher rate paid for a neighboring village's land, since that claim had already been considered and rejected in the connected proceedings.
Lesson Learnt
Courts can excuse very long delays in compensation appeals to ensure equal treatment among similarly situated claimants, but the price of that leniency is forfeiting the interest that would have accrued had the claim been filed on time: vigilance in pursuing legal remedies still carries a real financial reward.