Land Acquisition Proceedings Lapse On State's Prolonged Failure To Take Possession Or Pay Compensation: Rajasthan High Court

Rajasthan High Court has recently allowed a petition seeking a direction to declare the proceedings in a certain land acquisition award from 1998 as ‘lapsed’ after nearly two and a half decades.

The single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand iterated that when the state has failed to take possession of the property or pay compensation to the petitioner as stipulated in the land acquisition award, the acquisition proceeding stands lapsed. The apex court decision in Indore Development Authorities v. Manohar Lal and Ors. (2020) was relied upon by the bench sitting at Jaipur while reaching the conclusion that the proceedings have lapsed as per Section 24 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

“…. When this fact remains undisputed that neither the possession has been taken nor any monetary compensation has been paid/deposited to the petitioner, the impugned acquisition proceedings qua the petitioner stands lapsed, in the light of the observations and directions issued by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Para No. 366.8 of the judgment passed by the Constitutional Bench passed of Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Indore Development Authority”, the court observed in the order.

In Indore Development Authority, the apex court had made the following observations:

“The provisions of Section 24(2) providing for a deemed lapse of proceedings are applicable in case authorities have failed due to their inaction to take possession and pay compensation for five years or more before the 2013 Act came into force, in a proceeding for land acquisition pending with the authority concerned as on 1.1.2014.”

The land acquisition proceedings in the current case were initiated on 25.07.1995 on account of the notification under Section 4 of the Act of 1894. Thereafter, the notice under Section 6 inviting objections from potential objectors was issued in 1997, followed by the Land Acquisition Award in 1998. Respondent authorities also did not raise any objections as to the timeline of the land acquisition proceedings. The petitioner had also sought a relief to re-enter her name in the revenue records instead of the name of the Urban Improvement Trust (Rajasthan).

Accordingly, the court allowed the petition and disposed of all pending applications in the case.

Case Title: Gyanwati wife of Shri Shikharchand v. State of Rajasthan Urban Development and Housing Department & Ors..

Case No: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6975/2016

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