DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Vs. SHYAMO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 20.12.2017 passed by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Writ Petition (Civil) No.12174 of 2015 by which the High Court has allowed the said writ petition preferred by the respondent no.1 herein - original writ petitioner and has declared that the acquisition with respect to the land in question is deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act 2013'), the Delhi Development Authority has preferred the present appeal.

(2.) From the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court it appears that it was the specific case on behalf of the LAC before the High Court and so stated in the counter affidavit filed by the LAC that a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued on 23.09.1989 for planned development of Delhi for the acquisition of the lands falling in Village Ghonda Gujaran Khadar. That award was declared on 19.06.1992 and the actual vacant physical possession of the subject land was taken on 21.03.2007, out of which the original petitioner has been claiming 1/12th share on the spot and handed over to the DDA after preparing possession proceedings on the spot. It was also stated that the recorded owners/heirs never came forward to receive any compensation and hence the same is lying unpaid. However, thereafter without even deciding the question of ownership and title of the original writ petitioner and leaving the same open and relying upon its earlier decision in the case of Gyanender Singh & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors. in W.P. (C) No.1393 of 2014 decided on 23.09.2014, the High Court has passed the impugned judgment and order and has declared the acquisition proceedings deemed to have lapsed on the ground that the compensation was not tendered to the original writ petitioner.

(3.) Applying the law laid down by this Court in the case of Indore Development Authority (supra) to the facts of the case on hand and more particularly when the possession of the land in question was taken over by drawing the panchnama and preparing the possession proceedings and the same was handed over to the DDA and that the original writ petitioner was not the recorded owner and therefore there was no question of tendering any compensation to him at the relevant time, the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court declaring that the acquisition with respect to the land in question is deemed to have lapsed is unsustainable.