LexPUNE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION & ANR. versus HARAKCHAND MISIRIMAL SOLANKI & ORS.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
[2014) 1 S.C.R. 783 PLINE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION & ANR. V. HARAKCHAND MISIRIMAL SOLANKI & ORS. (Civil Appeal No. 877 of 2014) JANUARY 24, 2014. [R.M. LODHA, MADAN B. LOKUR AND KURIAN JOSEPH, JJ.] RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION AND A 8 TRANSPARENCY IN LAND ACQUISITION, C REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT ACT, 2013: s. 24(2) - Proceedings deemed to have.lapsed -Award made 5 years prior to coming into force of 2013 Act - Compensation neither paid to land owners/claimants nor 0 deposited in court - Held: Subject land acquisition proceedings shall be deemed to have lapsed u/s 24(2) of the 2013 Act - Deposit of the amount of compensation in the government treasury is not equivalent to the amount of compensation paid to the landowners/persons interested and liability of State to pay interest subsists till the amount has E not been deposited in court - Land Acquisition Act, 1894 - s. 11 - Interpretation of statute. s.114(2) - Repeal and savings - Held: Sub-s. (2) of s. 114 makes s. 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1891 applicable F with regard to the effect of repeal but this is subject to the provisions in the 2013 Act - Under s.24(2) land acquisition proceedings initiated under the 1894 Act, by legal fiction, are deemed to have lapsed where award has been made five years or more prior to the commencement of 2013 Act and G possession of the land is not taken or compensation has not been paid - The legal fiction uls 24(2) comes into operation as soon as conditions stated therein are satisfied - General Clauses Act, 1897 - s. 6. 783 H 784 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2014] 1 S.C.R. A A notification u/s 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 in respect of the lands of the respondents was published on 30.09.2004. On 26.12.2005, the declaration u/s 6 was published in the official gazette. On 31.01.2008 the Special Land Acquisition Officer made the award u/s 11 B of the 1894 Act. In the instant appeals filed by the Municipal Corporation, it was contended for the respondents-landowners that by virtue of s. 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, c the subject acquisition would be deemed to have lapsed because the award u/s 11 of the 1894 Act was made more than five years prior to the commencement of 2013 Act and no compensation was paid to the land owners nor the amount of compensation was deposited in the court 0 by the Special Land Acquisition Officer. Dismissing the appeals, the Court HELD: 1.1. Section 24(2) of 2013 Act, which begins with non obstante clause and has overriding effect over E s.24(1), enacts that in relation to the land acquisition proceedings initiated under 1894 Act, where an award has been made five years or more prior to the commencement of the 2013 Act and either of the two contingencies is satisfied, viz; (i) physical possession of F the land has not been taken or (ii) the "compensation has not been paid", such acquisition proceedings shall be deemed to have lapsed. [Para 11) [791-A-C] 1.2. The expression, "compensation has not been paid'' has to be construed in terms of s. 31 of the 1894 G Act, which enjoins upon the Collector to tender payment of compensation to the person interested or deposit of the same in the court. The mandatory nature of the provision in s. 31(2) with regard to deposit of the compensation in the court is further fortified by the H provisions contained in ss. 32, 33 and 34. For the PUNE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION v. HARAKCHAND 785 MISIRIMAL SOLANKI purposes of s. 24(2), the compensation shall be regarded A as "paid" if the compensation has been offered to the person interested and such compensation has been deposited in the court where reference uls 18 can be made on happening of any of the contingencies contemplated uls 31(2) of the 1894 Act. [Para 12, 14, 16 B and 17] [791-E; 792-C; 793-A-B, F-H] 1.3. The deposit of the amount of compensation in the government treasury is not equivalent to the amount of compensation paid to the landowners/persons interested, C as the deposit of the amount of the compensation in the state's revenue account is of no avail and the liability of the State to pay interest subsists till the amount has not been deposited in court. The1894 Act being an expropriatory legislation has to be strictly followed. The procedure, mode and manner for payment of D compensation are prescribed in Part V (ss. 3
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.