In Brief
The Government of Delhi appealed a High Court judgment that had declared land acquisition proceedings lapsed under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, solely because compensation was not paid despite possession being taken in 2008. The Supreme Court held that acquisition proceedings lapse only when BOTH possession has not been taken AND compensation has not been paid for five years before the 2013 Act—not when only one condition is unfulfilled. The Court also held that a subsequent purchaser cannot claim lapsing of proceedings. The High Court's reliance on an earlier Supreme Court decision was wrong as that decision had been overruled by the Constitution Bench. The appeal was allowed and the High Court's judgment quashed.
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