NO COMPENSATION NO ACQUISITION : SUPREME COURT In a landmark judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in Pune Municipal Corporation & Anr. v. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki & Ors., it has been held that the acquisition would be deemed to have lapsed and would be covered under the 2013 law entitling the landowners to higher compensation, if compensation for land acquired under the 1894 Act has not been paid to the land owner or deposited with a competent court and retained in the treasury. It has been ruled by the Supreme Court that payments overdue or delayed to landowners will attract higher compensations, and would make such acquisitions void.However, the only requirement is that such an award of compensation should be five years or more prior to the enactment of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which was notified on Jan 1, 2014. In these 18 appeals, by special leave, it was argued on behalf of the respondents-landowners that in view of Section 24(2) of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which has come into effecton 01.01.2014, the subject land acquisition proceedings initiated under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 have lapsed. Thequestion for decision relates to true meaning of the expression: “compensation has not been paid” occurring in Section 24(2) of the 2013Act. A Supreme Court bench of Justice R.M.Lodha, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph held that the deposit of compensation amount in the government treasury has no purpose and cannot be held to be equal to compensation paid to the landowners/persons interested. It further stated that under section 24(2) (of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013), land acquisition proceedings initiated under the 1894 (Land Acquisition) Act by legal fiction, are held to have lapsed where award has been made five years or more prior to the commencement of 2013 Act and possession of the land is not taken or compensation has not been paid. Notably, on Jan 31, 2008, award for the compensation for acquiring these lands was made and notices were issued to the landowners to receive the compensation but since they did not receive the compensation, the amount of rupees 27 crore was deposited in the government treasury. Answering its own question, the court had asked that can the deposit of the amount of compensation in the government treasury be said to be equal to the amount of compensation paid to the landowners/persons interested?
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 06:47:53 +0000
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