In Brief
The Supreme Court held that an Award passed by a Lok Adalat under the Legal Services Authorities Act cannot be used as a basis to claim redetermination of compensation under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act. Although Section 21 of the 1987 Act deems a Lok Adalat Award to be a decree for enforcement purposes, this fiction does not extend to treating it as a Court's award for triggering Section 28A benefits. Section 28A specifically requires an award from 'the Court' (defined as a Principal Civil Court) following adjudication under Part III. Since Lok Adalats merely facilitate settlement and compromise without adjudicatory powers, their awards cannot satisfy this requirement. The Court also rejected reliance on estoppel from the settlement, as such estoppel binds only the parties to the compromise, not third parties claiming statutory relief.
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