In Brief
The Land Acquisition Collector challenged a High Court decision that had deemed land acquisition proceedings lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act, solely because compensation was unpaid despite possession being taken in 1997. The Supreme Court held that the word "or" in Section 24(2) must be read as "and"/"nor", meaning deemed lapse occurs only when both possession has not been taken AND compensation has not been paid. Since possession was admitted, there could be no lapse. The Court overruled the High Court's reliance on Pune Municipal Corporation (since overruled by the Constitution Bench in Indore Development Authority) and allowed the appeal, dismissing the writ petition.
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