Summary
The Court directed the Union to return lands retained for defence purposes long after the statutory requisition ended. Ownership and the absence of valid acquisition had attained finality; the use of adjoining land for defence did not authorize indefinite occupation. Possession had to be restored within three months, independently of the owners’ right to seek fresh compensation through time-bound arbitration.
Issues
- Whether defence use justified continued occupation after the requisition period ended without valid acquisition.
- What restitution and compensation directions were required.
Provisions considered
- Article 300A, Constitution of IndiaHeld that the State cannot indefinitely occupy private property without lawful authority, and required restoration of possession. (¶¶ 18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27)
- Section 6(1A)(a), Requisitioning and Acquisition of Immovable Property Act, 1952Applied the statutory limit on continued requisition to conclude that lawful possession had ended in 1987. (¶¶ 3, 17, 18, 24)
Held
- The findings that the disputed lands had not been validly acquired and that ownership remained with the appellants had attained finality. The Union could not reopen that settled question as a defence to restoration. (¶¶ 12, 13, 17, 24)
- Requisition temporarily displaces possessory rights while leaving title intact. It cannot indefinitely become expropriation without a separate lawful acquisition process. The Union’s legal authority to retain these lands ended in 1987; neighbouring defence installations did not justify continued possession or indefinite time to acquire. (¶¶ 17, 18, 19, 20, 24)
- Though no longer a fundamental right, property remains a valuable constitutional right protected by Article 300A. The State is bound by the rule of law and cannot claim an overriding entitlement to occupy property without legal sanction, whatever the asserted public purpose. (¶¶ 21, 22, 25, 26)
- The Union must restore peaceful possession within three months. The owners may separately seek compensation based on fresh capital and recurring annual values for the relevant five-year periods over the preceding twenty years. The claim must be referred to arbitration within four weeks of receipt, and an award pronounced within six months of the arbitrator receiving the reference; this process does not postpone restoration. (¶ 27)
Result
Appeal allowed; Union directed to restore possession within three months, with separate time-bound compensation arbitration available. Appellants awarded costs of Rs.75,000.