Shiv Kumar & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.
Background
Land in Delhi was notified for acquisition in 1999 for a planned residential scheme, with the acquisition declaration following in 2000 and possession of the land recorded as taken soon after. The appellants purchased the same land in 2001, after the acquisition notification had already issued, from a person holding only a power-of-attorney/agreement-to-sell/will from the original owners, not a registered, perfected title. After an award for compensation was passed in 2002, the appellants claimed they remained in physical possession, that an unauthorized colony later came up on the land, and that since the government never took actual physical possession, the acquisition had "lapsed" under the newer 2013 land acquisition law, entitling them to relief. The Delhi High Court rejected their writ petition, and they appealed to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that a person who purchases land after a Section 4 acquisition notification has already been issued cannot acquire valid title against the State, since such a sale is void as against the acquisition, following its own earlier three-judge bench precedents, and declining to refer the matter to a larger bench despite the appellants' reliance on a conflicting two-judge ruling (the Manav Dharam Trust case). The Court also found the purchasers' claims internally contradictory, they simultaneously argued the land was part of an "unauthorized" colony while also claiming lawful possession, and noted their seller's own title derived only from unregistered power-of-attorney/will transactions that could not legally transfer ownership. As the purchasers never acquired any recognized title, they could not invoke the lapsing provision of the 2013 Act, and the appeal was dismissed, upholding the High Court's decision.
Lesson Learnt
Buying land after an official acquisition notification has already been published is legally risky: such a purchase does not give the buyer a valid title against the government, and relying on informal documents like power-of-attorney or unregistered agreements to sell (instead of a proper registered sale deed from a person with clear title) can leave a buyer with no enforceable rights at all.