In Brief
The appellant sought statutory benefits under the Land Acquisition Act after accepting a negotiated settlement for land acquisition in Himachal Pradesh. The High Court dismissed her writ petition, holding that by accepting the negotiated settlement, she had forfeited entitlement to statutory benefits. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that since the supplementary award for structures and trees (unlike the land award) did not explicitly exclude statutory benefits, and was announced in absentia, the appellant retained the right to seek a reference under Section 18 of the Act for enhancement of compensation and determination of all statutory benefits. The Court remitted the matter to allow the appellant to file an application before the Collector within four weeks.",
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