In Brief
Belagavi Urban Development Authority (BUDA) appealed a Division Bench judgment directing it to either restore possession of disputed land or acquire it under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act. The Supreme Court held that BUDA, as a statutory authority whose benefit the land was acquired for, was an essential party that should have been impleaded in the original writ petitions challenging the acquisition under the Urban Land Ceiling Act, 1976. The Court set aside all prior orders, remitted the writ petitions for fresh hearing with BUDA now properly added as respondent, and granted eight weeks for BUDA to file its reply. All substantive contentions remain open for decision.
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