In Brief
A timber company held a perpetual license (without fixed expiry) to operate on government land in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. When the government acquired the land for port development, it argued the company was merely a licensee with no interest deserving compensation. The Supreme Court held that a perpetual license confers a heritable interest making the licensee a tenure holder eligible for compensation. When land is acquired, the State must pay compensation for the restricted interest being extinguished, measured by the market value of that interest, not the full land value. The State cannot escape compensation by asserting superior ownership after invoking the Land Acquisition Act's procedure.", <parameter name="cited_cases">[ {"raw_citation":"(1955) SCR (1) 1311", "case_name":"The Collector of Bombay v. Nusserwanji Rattanji Mistri & Ors.", "cited_year":"1955", "paragraph":"6", "treatment":"referred"}, {"raw_citation":"(1968) SCR (2) 892", "case_name":"Special Land Acquisition v. M.S. Seshagiri Rao & Anr.", "cited_year":"1968", "paragraph":"6", "treatment":"referred"}, {"raw_citation":"(2004) 7 SCC 362", "case_name":"Meher Rusi Dalal v. Union of India & Ors.", "cited_year":"2004", "paragraph":"6", "treatment":"referred"}, {"raw_citation":"(2013) 3 SCC 571", "case_name":"Saraswati Devi v. Delhi Development Authority & Ors.", "cited_year":"2013", "paragraph":"13", "treatment":"distinguished", "treatment_by":"this_court", "treatment_quote":"The learned Attorney General placed reliance upon the judgment in Saraswati Devi v. Delhi Development Authority & Ors., (2013) 3 SCC 571 wherein the four Judge Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Nusserwanji Rattanji Mistri (supra) has been adverted to and distinguished...In view of the aforesaid statements of law laid down by this Court in Saraswati Devi (supra) after adverting to the four Judge Bench judgment in Nusserwanji Rattanji Mistri case (supra), holding that even if the land absolutely vests with the State, interest of private individuals can certainly be created on the same by executing conveyance in their favour."}, {"raw_citation":"(2003) 10 SCC 321", "case_name":"Delhi Administration v. Madan Lal Nangia", "cited_year":"2003", "paragraph":"13", "treatment":"referred"}, {"raw_citation":"AIR 1965 Mysore 222", "case_name":"M.S. Seshagiri Rao & Anr v. Special Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation Officer, Sagar", "cited_year":"1965", "paragraph":"15", "treatment":"referred"}, {"raw_citation":"AIR 1968 SC 1045", "case_name":"Special Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation Officer, Sagar v. M.S. Seshagiri Rao & Anr.", "cited_year":"1968", "paragraph":"15", "treatment":"approved", "treatment_by":"this_court", "treatment_quote":"which judgment has been affirmed by this Court in the case of Special Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation Officer, Sagar v. M.S. Seshagiri Rao & Anr., AIR 1968 SC 1045"}, {"raw_citation":"Attorney-General v. De Kayser's Royal Hotel Ltd.", "case_name":"Attorney-General v. De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd.", "cited_year":"", "paragraph":"15", "treatment":"referred"} ]
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