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Pawan Kumar Aggarwal v. State of Punjab & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 3789 of 2016)Decided 11 Apr 2016
Civil Appeal No. 3789 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

An award had been passed for acquiring land belonging to the appellant, but it was undisputed that the appellant had never actually been dispossessed of the land. Under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, landowners who retain possession despite an old award are entitled to have the acquisition proceedings treated as lapsed. The appellant relied on this provision to challenge the continuing acquisition of his land.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that, in respect of the very same acquisition notification, it had already quashed the notification for another landowner who likewise remained in possession, in its earlier judgment in Karnail Kaur & Ors. vs. State of Punjab & Ors., 2015 (3) SCC 206. Applying that precedent to the identical facts here, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the acquisition proceedings in respect of the appellant's land as well.

Lesson Learnt

Under the 2013 land acquisition law, if a landowner is never actually dispossessed despite an old acquisition award, they can have the acquisition proceedings declared lapsed, and a landowner can rely directly on a Supreme Court ruling that already struck down the same notification for a similarly situated neighbour.

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

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