Sardar Gurbax Singh & Ors. vs Union Of India & Ors.
2016 Latest Caselaw 4666 Del

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*       IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
%                                      Judgment delivered on: 19.07.2016

+       W.P.(C) 1723/2015 & CM 3085/2015
SARDAR GURBAX SINGH & ORS.                                       .... Petitioners
                                       versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                                            ..... Respondents
Advocates who appeared in this case:

For the Petitioner                     : Mr S.K. Rout
For the Respondent EDMC                : Ms Shobha Gupta with Ankit Malhotra
For the Respondent LAC/L&B             : Mr Yeeshu Jain with Ms Jyoti Tyagi
CORAM:-
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE BADAR DURREZ AHMED
HON'BLE MR JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR

                  JUDGMENT

BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J (ORAL)

1. The amended memo of parties is on record. The cause of title be

amended accordingly. The registry is directed to correct the record.

2. The petitioners seek the benefit of Section 24(2) of the Right to

Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation

and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 2013 Act')

which came into effect on 01.01.2014. A declaration is sought to the

effect that the acquisition proceeding initiated under the Land Acquisition

Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 1894 Act') in respect of which

Award No. 102/1986-87 dated 19.09.1986 was made, inter alia, in

respect of the petitioners' land comprised in property no. C-1/11,

measuring 114.7/12 Sq. Yds. in all in village Ghondli (Krishna Nagar),

New Delhi, shall be deemed to have lapsed.

3. Though the respondents claimed that possession of the said land

was taken on 13.02.1987, the petitioners dispute this and maintain that

physical possession has not been taken. However, insofar as the issue of

compensation is concerned, the petitioner's case is that compensation has

neither been offered nor paid to the petitioner nor his predecessor-in-

interest. The stand of the respondents, however, is that the Naksha

Muntzamin is in torn condition and therefore the respondents are not in a

position to specifically state as to whether the compensation has been

paid or not. In these circumstances the averments made by the petitioners

would have to be accepted and that means that compensation has not been

paid.

4. Without going into the controversy of physical possession, this

much is clear that the Award was made more than five years prior to the

commencement of the 2013 Act and the compensation has also not been

paid. The necessary ingredients for the application of Section 24(2) of

the 2013 Act as interpreted by the Supreme Court and this Court in the

following cases stand satisfied:-

(1) Pune Municipal Corporation and Anr v. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki and Ors: (2014) 3 SCC 183;

(2) Union of India and Ors v. Shiv Raj and Ors: (2014) 6 SCC 564;

(3) Sree Balaji Nagar Residential Association v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors: Civil Appeal No. 8700/2013 decided on 10.09.2014;

(4) Surender Singh v. Union of India & Others: WP(C) 2294/2014 decided on 12.09.2014 by this Court; and

(5) Girish Chhabra v. Lt. Governor of Delhi and Ors:

WP(C) 2759/2014 decided on 12.09.2014 by this Court.

5. As a result, the petitioners are entitled to a declaration that the said

acquisition proceedings initiated under the 1894 Act in respect of the

subject land are deemed to have lapsed. It is so declared.

6. The writ petition is allowed to the aforesaid extent. There shall be

no order as to costs.

                                          BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J


JULY 19, 2016                             ASHUTOSH KUMAR, J
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