Summary
The Delhi High Court declared an acquisition lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act because physical possession had not been taken and compensation had not been paid, relying on its own decision in Jagjit Singh and on Pune Municipal Corporation, although the Government's counter affidavit showed that possession could not be taken because of a stay granted in a 2005 writ petition and continued by the Supreme Court until 11 February 2015, so that the stay was operating when the 2013 Act came into force. The Supreme Court allowed the Government of NCT of Delhi's appeal: under Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal the period of a stay on taking possession is excluded in computing the five years, and a landowner who obtained such a stay cannot thereafter contend that the acquisition lapsed because possession was not taken.
Issues
- Whether an acquisition can be declared lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 where possession could not be taken because of a stay obtained by the landowner which was in force when the Act commenced.
Provisions considered
- Section 24(2), Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013Following paragraph 366.8 of Indore Development Authority, the period of subsistence of interim orders passed by a court is excluded in computing the five years of inaction required for deemed lapse, and Pune Municipal Corporation and decisions following it stand overruled. (¶¶ 2, 3, 4)
Held
- A stay against taking possession was operating even on the day the 2013 Act came into force; once the landowners obtained that stay it is not open to them to contend that the acquisition lapsed for want of possession, and the High Court's reliance on Jagjit Singh and Pune Municipal Corporation was contrary to the Constitution Bench decision. (¶¶ 2, 3, 4, 5)
Result
Appeal allowed without costs; Delhi High Court judgment dated 13.10.2015 in WP (C) No. 2458 of 2015 quashed and set aside; pending applications disposed of.