In Brief
The Supreme Court held that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 applies to appeals filed under Section 74 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The Court clarified that merely prescribing a limitation period does not amount to express exclusion of the Limitation Act. Section 103 of the 2013 Act—stating it is "in addition to and not in derogation of" existing laws—preserves the application of general limitation principles. Therefore, delays in filing first appeals before High Courts against awards passed by the Land Acquisition Authority may be condoned if sufficient cause is shown. The Court set aside all High Court dismissals and directed reconsideration of delayed appeals on their merits, emphasizing that beneficial legislation should be interpreted to advance access to appellate remedies rather than restrict them.
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