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The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority v. Arminderjit Kaur & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 271Decided 26 Feb 2019
Civil Appeal No. 2383 of 2019
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

In land acquisition proceedings, the Land Acquisition Officer had offered compensation of Rs.1.36 crore per acre, which a Reference Court substantially enhanced. Both the acquiring authority (GMADA) and the landowners filed first appeals before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, GMADA seeking a reduction and the landowners seeking further enhancement: appeals that remained pending for final disposal. While those appeals were pending, the High Court passed an interim order directing GMADA to deposit Rs.3.50 crore per acre, which the landowners could withdraw, failing which the stay on recovery would be vacated; GMADA challenged this interim deposit/withdrawal arrangement before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court did not disturb the underlying first appeals (still pending before the High Court) but finally resolved the specific interim-arrangement dispute brought before it: it directed GMADA to deposit the full awarded sum within three months, permitted the landowners to withdraw only 50% of it against solvent security, required the remaining 50% (with interest) to be kept in a fixed deposit in the High Court Registrar's name, and made clear that withdrawal and deposit would both be subject to and adjusted against the final outcome of the pending first appeals. The Court allowed the appeals in part, modifying both the High Court's interim order and its own earlier ex parte interim order, and requested the High Court to dispose of the underlying first appeals finally within a year.

Lesson Learnt

When a dispute over compensation amount is still pending final adjudication, courts can craft an interim deposit/withdrawal arrangement that protects both sides, letting the landowner access part of the money immediately while safeguarding the acquiring body's interest until the final result is known.

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

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