In Brief
The State of Maharashtra appealed against a High Court order quashing land acquisition proceedings on the ground that the award under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was not declared within two years of the Section 6 declaration. The Supreme Court held that where a single acquisition scheme involves multiple parcels of land and courts grant stays against declaring awards in respect of some parcels, such stays operate across all parcels of the same scheme. Therefore, the statutory two-year period must exclude the duration of any court-ordered stay. The Court allowed the appeals, quashing the High Court's judgment and dismissing the writ petitions, restoring the acquisition proceedings on the ground that the acquisition did not lapse.
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