In Brief
The appellants challenged land acquisition proceedings by Himachal Pradesh for a road construction project. The Supreme Court found that the Collector failed to comply with mandatory procedural requirements under Section 15(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Specifically, the Collector did not afford the appellants a hearing on their objections and did not submit a report to the Government as required by law. The Court held that such procedural non-compliance renders acquisition proceedings illegal. The appeal was allowed, the High Court's judgment dismissed, and the matter was remitted to the Collector to decide the objections properly within three months."
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