MOHAR SINGH (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. & ORS. versus STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH COLLECTOR & ORS.

Citation: [2023] 14 S.C.R. 842 · Decided: 07-11-2023 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SURYA KANT, DIPANKAR DATTA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2023] 14 S.C.R. 842 : 2023 INSC 1019
842
CASE DETAILS
MOHAR SINGH (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. & ORS.
v.
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH COLLECTOR & ORS.
(Civil Appeal Nos.7504-7505 of 2023)
NOVEMBER 07, 2023
[SURYA KANT AND DIPANKAR DATTA, JJ.]
HEADNOTES
Issue for consideration: Appellants if entitled to seek parity with their 
co-villagers in the grant of compensation for their acquired land despite the 
inordinate delay in ﬁ ling ﬁ rst appeals.
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 – Compensation – Parity sought 
with co-villagers – Delay of 13 years in ﬁ ling of the ﬁ rst appeals – 
Condonation:
Held: Appellants are entitled to seek parity with their co-villagers in 
the grant of compensation for their acquired land – The inordinate delay 
in ﬁ ling appeal in compensatory matters, per se, may not be fatal as the 
rights and equities between the parties can be well balanced by denying the 
statutory beneﬁ ts, such as interest for the delayed period – Thus, the delay 
in ﬁ ling the ﬁ rst appeal(s) could be condoned subject to the condition that 
the appellants would not be entitled to enure undue beneﬁ t for the delayed 
period – Such indulgence is being granted in the appellant’s favour also 
because a batch of ﬁ rst appeals at the instance of other land owners was 
still pending consideration before the High Court – The delay of nearly 13 
years in ﬁ ling of their ﬁ rst appeals is being condoned, only to accord parity 
between the similarly placed land-owners on the anvil of Article 14 – If 
the appellants are granted compensation higher than their co-landowners, 
despite the fact that such counterparts were vigilant in pursuing their remedy 
promptly, it will lead to hostile discrimination viz those landowners whose 
fate already stands sealed upto this Court and will amount to granting 
premium on stale, belated and chance claim of the appellants – Appellants 
843
entitled to compensation @ Rs.150 per sq. yard for their respective acquired 
land – However, the compensation amount shall not include statutory 
interest, including on solatium, as per the rate prescribed u/s.34 of the Act 
for the period from the date of passing of the award by the Reference Court 
u/s.18 of the Act till the ﬁ ling of the respective ﬁ rst appeals before the High 
Court – Constitution of India – Article 14.[Paras 12-14 and 15]
LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
Jitendra and others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and another C.A. 
No.12631/2017 – referred to.
OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED 
ORDER AND APPEARANCES
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos.7504-7505 
of 2023.
From the Judgment and Order dated 09.03.2016 of the High Court of 
Judicature at Allahabad in FA No.228 of 2011 and DCA No.312574 of 2011.
Appearances:
Pradeep Kant, S.W.A. Qadri, Sr. Advs., Rohit Kumar Singh, Simranjeet 
Singh Rekhi, Atul Krishna, Shubham, Aditya Sharma, Saeed Qadri, Anurag 
Nagar, Varnit Sharma, K. S. Rana, Advs. for the Appellants.
Ravindra Kumar, Sr. Adv., Binay Kumar Das, Ms. Priyanka Das, Ms. 
Neha Das, Advs. for the Respondents.
JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT
JUDGMENT
1. Leave granted.
2. The land of the appellants, situated in village Khora, Pargana 
Loni, Tehsil Dadri, District Ghaziabad, was part and parcel of the total 
land measuring 902.2046 acres which was proposed to be acquired by a 
notiﬁ cation dated 17.03.1988 published on 19.03.1988 under Section 4(1) of 
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short, “the Act”). It appears that ﬁ nally, 
land measuring 337.892 acres only, including that of the appellants, was 
MOHAR SINGH (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. & ORS. v. STATE 
OF UTTAR PRADESH COLLECTOR & ORS.
844 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2023] 14 S.C.R.
acquired and the award was passed by the Special Land Acquisition Oﬃ  cer 
on 01.02.1991, granting compensation at the rate of Rs.70 per sq. yard.
3. Most of the land owners, including the appellants, ﬁ led reference 
under Section 18 of the Act. The Learned Xth Additional District Judge, 
Ghaziabad vide an award dated 06.04.1998 partly accepted those references 
and enhanced the compensation at the rate of Rs.106 per sq. yard.
4. Various land owners then approached the High Court by way of First 
Appeals, for further enhancement of compensation. These appeals included 
First Appeal No.491/1998 (Veer Singh & others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh 
and others), First Appeal No.493/1998 (Megh Singh and others vs. State 
of Uttar Pradesh) and First Appeal No.477/1998 (Amar Singh vs. State of 
Uttar Pradesh and others)
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