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Delhi Development Authority vs Poonam Bhatia & Ors

Supreme Court3 May 2016Rohinton Fali Nariman · Kurian Joseph

Ratio decidendi

The rule this decision rests on

Where a land acquiring authority fails to dispute before the High Court that it has neither taken physical possession of the land nor paid compensation, and the award was made more than five years prior to the commencement of the 2013 Act, there is no justification for the authority to appeal to the Supreme Court on the question of whether the acquisition has lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.

Judgment

As delivered

NON-REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIACIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.4800 OF 2016(Arising out of SLP ( C) No. 30195 of 2015)
Delhi Development Authority ...Appellant
Versus
Poonam Bhatia & Ors. ...Respondents
J U D G M E N T
KURIAN, J.
1. Leave granted.

2. The Delhi Development Authority has come up in appeal, aggrieved by the Judgment dated 11.11.2014 passed by the High Court of Delhi, whereby the acquisition of the property referred to in the Judgment in question of the land belonging to the respondents has been declared to have lapsed in view of the provisions of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

3. On the finding that the possession has not been taken, the relevant portion of the impugned judgment is extracted below:

“It is an admitted position that neither physical possession of the subject land has been taken by the land acquiring agency, nor has any compensation been paid to the petitioners. The award was made more than five years prior to the commencement of the 2013 Act. All the ingredients of section 24(2) of the 2013 Act as interpreted by the Supreme Court and this Court in the following decisions satisfied.....”

4. In the above circumstances, the appellant having not disputed the question of possession, before the High Court, there is no justification in filing the appeal before this Court.

5. The appeal is hence dismissed. No costs.

................J. [KURIAN JOSEPH]

....................J. [ROHINTON FALI NARIMAN] NEW DELHI;

MAY 03, 2016

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