Land Acquisition | Person Who Accepted S.28A Award Can File Second Application For Enhancement Based On Appeals : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that a second application under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is maintainble to seek re-determination of compensation on the basis of enhancement awarded by the High Court in other cases.

The Court held that acceptance of land acquisition compensation would not bar a landowner from claiming enhanced compensation under Section 28-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

A bench comprising Justices M. M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh set aside the Karnataka High Court Division Bench ruling, which had rejected the appellant's claim for enhanced compensation under Section 28-A on the ground that, having earlier accepted the awarded amount, he was estopped from seeking further enhancement at par with similarly placed landowners.

“The benefit of an enhanced compensation received by a landowner, consequent to the final award passed by the appellate forum, would also extend to similarly placed landowners who seek redetermination of compensation under Section 28-A of the Act. To put it differently, when 'A' obtains an award from the Reference Court, 'B' can also receive the benefit of the same by invoking Section 28-A of the Act. Similarly, when 'A' receives an enhancement from the High Court or this Court, 'B' is also entitled to receive the same enhancement, notwithstanding the earlier receipt of money under Section 28-A of the Act based upon the award of the Reference Court.”, the court observed.

The case arose from land acquisition proceedings initiated in 2002 in Karnataka for a railway project. The Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) initially awarded compensation at ₹40,000 per acre.

Some landowners challenged this under Section 18, leading to the Reference Court enhancing the compensation to ₹2,00,000 per acre in 2006. The present appellants, who had not sought a reference, invoked Section 28-A for re-determination of the compensation and were granted the same enhanced compensation in 2013.

However, parallel appeals were pending before the High Court. In the appeals filed by some landowners who received ₹2,00,000 per acre, the High Court further enhanced the compensation to ₹3,50,000 per acre.

Relying on this higher award, the appellants filed a fresh application under Section 28-A seeking re-determination of compensation. The Land Acquisition Officer rejected the application, and although a Single Judge allowed their plea, a Division Bench of the High Court reversed it, holding that a second application was not maintainable, leading to an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Setting aside the impugned findings, the judgment authored by Justice Sundresh observed:

“…we are inclined to hold that even a second application made under Section 28-A of the Act after the award passed by the High Court is maintainable and entitled to be considered by the Collector/LAO. We are of the view that, entertaining an earlier application filed under Section 28-A of the Act on the basis of the award of the Reference Court followed by the receipt of money, shall not act as a bar for the same applicant to seek further re-determination of compensation on the basis of the award passed by the High Court or this Court.”

The Court observed that Section 28-A is a beneficial provision intended to remove inequality among landowners affected by the same acquisition. Allowing estoppel or waiver to operate would frustrate this objective.

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed, with a direction to the respondent authorities to re-determine the compensation as per the enhanced compensation ordered by the High Court, @ Rs. 3,50,000/- per acre to the Appellant.

Cause Title: ANDANAYYA AND ORS. VERSUS DEPUTY CHIEF ENGINEER AND ORS.

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 300

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Appearance:

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Chandrashekhar A. Chakalabbi, Adv. Mr. S.k Pandey, Adv. Mr. Anshul Rai, Adv. For M/s Dharmaprabhas Law Associates, AOR

For Respondent(s) Mr. Vikramjeet Banerjee, ASG Mrs. V. Mohana, Sr. Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Mr. Ankolekar Gurudatta, AOR Ms. Shephali, Adv. Mr. Sorokhaibam Shanti Jyoti Singh, Adv.