In Brief
The Supreme Court overturned a High Court judgment that had declared a land acquisition proceeding lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. Following the Constitution Bench decision in Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal, the Court held that acquisition does not lapse if possession has been taken, even if compensation is unpaid. The Court clarified that "or" in Section 24(2) must read as "and"—both possession failure and non-compensation are required for lapse. Critically, court stay order periods must be excluded from the five-year inaction computation. Since a stay order remained in effect when the 2013 Act commenced on 1-1-2014, preventing possession, there was no deemed lapse.
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