Summary
Land in Delhi was notified in 1965, the award followed on 19 September 1986, and possession was handed over to the DDA on 22 September 1986. About 29 years later the writ petitioners sought a declaration of lapse under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. The Delhi High Court granted it, relying only on non-payment of compensation and on Pune Municipal Corporation. The Supreme Court set this aside. Pune Municipal Corporation has been overruled by Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal, under which there is no lapse once possession has been taken. The possession proceedings were on record. The petitioners' own pending petition to regularise an illegal colony on the land showed that any occupation was by encroachment.
Issues
- Whether an acquisition lapses under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act merely because compensation was not paid to the recorded owners, where possession was taken and handed over to the DDA in 1986.
Provisions considered
- Section 24(2), Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013Following paragraphs 365 and 366 of Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal, which overruled Pune Municipal Corporation v. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki, lapse occurs only where possession has not been taken nor compensation paid, and Section 24(2) does not revive stale claims. (¶ 3.2)
Held
- The possession proceedings placed on record showed that the land, with other lands, was taken over and handed over on 22.09.1986; the petitioners' own pending writ petition for regularising an illegal residential colony on the land admitted that the construction and occupation were illegal, so it could not be believed that possession was not taken or that they were in possession. (¶¶ 2, 3, 3.1)
- The High Court's reliance on Pune Municipal Corporation, since overruled by the Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority, to declare lapse solely for non-payment of compensation is unsustainable, and the judgment was set aside without commenting on the pending regularisation petition. (¶¶ 3.2, 4)
Result
Civil Appeal No. 9201 of 2022 allowed without costs; the Delhi High Court judgment dated 14.09.2015 in Writ Petition (C) No. 4952 of 2015, declaring the acquisition lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act, set aside, without comment on the pending Writ Petition No. 9366 of 2005.