Holding

Section 24(2) deems acquisition proceedings to have lapsed where, after an award made five years before the 2013 Act, either physical possession has not been taken or compensation has not been paid, with ‘paid’ meaning actual payment to the claimant or deposit in the court under Section 31(2), not a mere treasury deposit.

Summary

The Supreme Court examined the meaning of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The case involved land notified for acquisition in 1961, an award made in 1997, possession taken in 2000, and compensation that was deposited with the Land Acquisition Collector in 2002 but never tendered or paid to the owners. The High Court had held that the acquisition proceedings were deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2). The Court clarified that "compensation has not been paid" means actual payment to the claimant or deposit in the court under Section 31(2) of the 1894 Act, and that a mere treasury deposit does not satisfy this requirement. It also affirmed that physical possession had been taken, as evidenced by the panchnama. Consequently, the acquisition proceedings were deemed to have lapsed, and the appeals were dismissed.

Issues considered

The proper construction of the phrase ‘compensation has not been paid’ in Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act.
Whether deposit of compensation in the government treasury satisfies the payment requirement under Section 31 of the 1894 Act.
Whether physical possession of the land was taken for the purpose of invoking Section 24(2).
The effect of the Delhi Standing Order No. 28 of 1909 on the interpretation of Section 31.
Whether the acquisition proceedings in the present case are deemed to have lapsed.

Legislation cited

Delhi Lands (Restrictions on Transfer) Act, 1972s. 4
Land Acquisition Act, 1894s. 11, s. 11A, s. 12, s. 16, s. 31, s. 31(2), s. 34
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013s. 24(1), s. 24(2)

Subjects

Land acquisitionRight to Fair Compensation ActSection 24(2)Lapse of acquisition proceedingsCompensation paymentPhysical possessionDelhi Development AuthoritySupreme Court

Judgment

(2016] 5 S.C.R. 227

DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY A
v.
SUKHBIR SINGH & OTHERS
(Civil Appeal No. 5811 of2015)
SEPTEMBER 09, 2016 8
[KURIAN JOSEPH AND R. F. NARIMAN, JJ.]
Right to Fair Co111pensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisitio11, Rehabilitatio11 and Resettlemem Act, 2013 - s. 24(2) -
Land acquisition pro.ceedings shall be deemed to have lapsed -
Construction of - Held: &ate has no business to expropriate jiwn a
c
citizen his property if an award has been made and the necessary
steps of taking physical possession of !a11d and payment of
co111pe11sation have not been taken for a period of five years or
more - Section gets attracted if the acquisition proceeding is not
co111pleted within five years after pronouncement of the award, either D
because physical possession of the land has not been taken or
because compensation has not been paid, within the said period of
five years - Object of the Act, a11d s. 24 in particulm; is that in case
an award has been made for five years or more, possession ought
to have been taken within this period, or else it is statutorily
E
presumed that the balance between the citizens right to retain his
own property and the right of the Stale to expropriate it for a public
purpose gets so disturbed as to make the acquisition proceedings
lapse - Section 24(2) uses the expression "dee111ed to have lapsed"
because the Legislature was cognizant of the fact that, in cases
where compensation has not been paid, and physical possession F
handed over to the State, vesting has taken place, after which land
acquisition proceediags could be said to have ended - On facts,
DDA was not ready with compensation payable on the day the mvard
was pronounced, but only handed over such compensation to the
Land Acquisition Collector five years after the award was
G
pronounced - Land Acquisition Collect01; in its turn, did nothing
whatsoever to offer the said sum or pay it to the original owners -
On the contrmy, the authorities moved an application on the eve of
the coming into force of 2013 Act, and by depositing the said a111ount
of compensation paid to it in the year 2002, only in 2013 - Original .,
H
227
228 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016) 5 S.C.R.

A land owners' lands were notified for acquisition in 1961, of which
possession was taken in 2000; after which the compensation offered
was neither tendered nor paid to the land owners - Thus, the
acquisition was non est in accordance with the object sought to be
achieved bys. 24(2) - Land Acquisition Act, 1894 - s. 31.
B Dismissing the appeals, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The scheme of the Land Acquisition Act, in so
far as the making of award and the payment of compensation to
persons interested, is as follows. On the day fixed, the Collector
after the inquiry that is contemplated under Section 11, has to
c make an award which must contain the necessary ingredients
mentioned in Section 11. As soon as the award is made, under
Section 12(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, the Collector is to
give immediate notice of the award to such of the persons
interested as are not present personally. This provision, when
read with Section 31 of the Act, makes it clear that the statutory
D scheme is that the Collector is to tender payment of compensation
awarded by him to the persons who are interested and entitled
thereto, according to the award, on the date of making the award
itself. It is therefore, clear that under the statutory scheme, the
Collector must be armed with the amount of compensation payable
E to persons interested as soon as the award is made. Such persons
have to be paid the sum mentioned in the award, it being well
settled that the award is only an offer which may be accepted or
rejected by the claimants. If accepted, whether under protest or
otherwise, it is the duty of the Collector to make payment as
soon as possible after making the award. It is only in a situation
F where the persons interested refuse to consent to receive monies
payable, or. there be no person competent to alienate the land, or
if there be any dispute as to title to receive compensation or its
apportionment, is the Collector to deposit the amount of
compensation in the reference court. It is only after these steps
G have been taken that the Collector may take possession of the
land, which shall thereupon vest absolutely in the Government
free from all encumbrances. [Paral0][240-A-F]
1.2 Section 24(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
H Resettlement Act, 2013 begins with a non-obstante clause and
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 229
OTHERS

covers situations where either no award has been made under A
the Land Acquisition Act, in which case the more beneficial
provisions of the 2013 Act relating to determination of
compensation shall apply, or where an award has been made under
Section 11, land acquisition proceedings shall continue under the
provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as if the said Act bad not
B
been repealed. [Para 12)(242-G-H; 243-A)
1.3 The picture that emerges on a reading of Section 24(2)
is that the State has no business to expropriate from a citizen his
property if an award has been made and the necessary steps to
complete acquisition have not been taken for a period of five
years or more. These steps include the taking of physical
c
possession of land and payment of compensation. What the
legislature is in effect telling the executive is that they ought to
have put their house in order and completed the acquisition
proceedings within a reasonable time after pronouncement of
award. Not having done so even after a leeway of five years is D
given, would cross the limits of legislative tolerance, after which
the whole proceeding would be deemed to have lapsed. It is
important to notice that the Section gets attracted ifthe acquisition
proceeding is not completed within five years after
pronouncement of the award. This may happen either because
physical possession of the land has not been taken or· because E
compensation has not been paid, within the said· period of five
years. A faint submission to the effect that 'or' should be read as
'and' must be turned down for two reasons. The plain natural
meaning of the sub-section does not lead to any absurdity to
replace language advisedly used by the Legislature. Secondly, F
the object of the Act, and Section 24 in particular, is that in case
an award has been made for five years or more, possession ought
to have been taken within this period, or else it is statutorily
presumed that the balance between the citizen's right to retain
his own property and the right of the State to expropriate it for a
public purpose gets so disturbed as to make the acquisition G
proceedings lapse. Alternatively, if compensation has not been
paid within this period, it is also statutorily presumed that the
said balance gets disturbed so as to free such property from
acquisition. [Para 14)(243-E-H; 244-A-B]
H
230 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A 1.4 The Standing Order lleshes out Section 31 of the Land
Acquisition Act by insisting that compensation must be paid as
soon as the award is announced, vide paragraph 71. Sufficient
notice must be given to enable all payees to assemble at a place
where they will receive their dues immediately. It is emphasized
by the said paragraph that much trouble will be avoided if the
B
principle that payment of compensation should be made at the
time of the award is strictly observed. Also, it is important that
the authorities draw in advance a sum sufficient to cover the
probable amount of the award and to make payments. (Para
18U252-G-H; 253-A]
c 1.5 On facts, it is clear that neither tender, that is offer to
the original claimant nor payment has been made in the manner
provided by Section 31 read with the Standing Order. In the
instant case, the DDA was not ready with compensation payable
on the day the award was pronounced, but only handed over such
D compensation to the Land Acquisition Collector five years after
the award was pronounced, that is, in 2002. The Land Acquisition
Collector, in its turn, did nothing whatsoever to offer the said
sum or pay it to the original owners. On the contrary, by moving
an application on the eve of the coming into force of the 2013
Act, and by depositing the said amount of compensation paid to it
E in the year 2002 only on 30.12.2013, it is clear that the said
mandatory provision and procedure were not followed by the
authorities. The present original land owners' lands were notified
for acquisition on 24.10.1961, of which possession was taken four
decades later, in 2000; after which the land owners have yet to
F see the colour of the paltry amount of compensation offered which
has neither been tendered nor paid to them. In the facts disclosed,
there could not be stronger facts to hold such acquisition 11011 est
in accordance with the object sought to be achieved by s. 2.t (2)
of the 2013 Act. [Para 20]-254-A-E]

G 1.6 A cursory reading of the paragraphs of the Standing
Orders would show that it is only pursuant to judicial orders that
the State wakes up from its slumber. A notice of award under
Section 12(2) to persons interested can only be issued after money
is received by the Land Acquisition Collector, and that the said
Collector shall not take possession of land unless and until
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 231
OTHERS

compensation amount is received by him. :Further, actual payment A
to land owners must be made latest within a period of 60 days. It
is high time that the State realizes that persons whose property
is expropriated need to be paid immediately so as to rehabilitate
themselves. Also, it cannot be forgotten that the amount usually
offered by way of an award of a Land Acquisition Collector under
B
the 1894 Act is way below the real market value, which is only
awarded and paid years later when the reference proceedings
culminate in judgments of the High Courts and of this Court.
[Para 22][255-H; 256-A-C)
1.7 The difference in phraseology between s. llA of the
1894 Act and s.24(2) of the 2013 Act really clinches the issue in
c
favour of the land owners. The expression used in s.24(2), namely,
"deemed to have lapsed" is of great significance and differs from
the use of the expression "lapsed" in s.llA. A deeming fiction is
enacted so that a putative state of affairs mus''i\'e imagined, the
mind not being allowed to boggle at the logical consequence of D
such putative state of affairs. Even if it is accepted that, post
vesting, acquisition proceedings cannot be said to lapse, yet effect
has to be given to the deeming fiction contained in s. 24(2). In
fact, s.24(2) uses the expression "deemed to have lapsed"
because the Legislature was cognizant of the fact that, in cases
where compensation has not been paid, and physical possession E
handed over to the State, vesting has taken place, after which
land acquisition proceedings could be said to have ended. [Para
27][258-E-G]
1.8 It is not correct that physical possession has not been
taken. The Panchnama specifically records that possession of the F
land was recovered and handed over to the representatives of
the office of Land and Buildings. The Panchnama is also signed
by all the necessary officers. The piece of land admittedly being
open land is governed by the ratio of Ragltbir Singlt's case. As
the instant case will fall within sub-paragraph (ii) that if the G
acquired land is vacant, the act of the State authority concerned
to go to the spot and prepare a panchnama will ordinarily be
treated as sufficient to constitute taking of possession, thus, the
t>hysical possession of the land can he said to have been taken
on the facts of the instant case. [Paras 28 and 29](259-A-B, E-F;
H
232 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A 260-D]
1.9 Having regard to the law declared in the Pune Municipal
Corporation case, as followed by the other judgments of this Court,
the High Court was correct and the impugned judgment calls for
no interference. [Para 30][260-E]
B Pune Municipal Corporation v. H.M Solanki 2014 (3)
SCC 183 : 2014 (1) SCR 783 - relied on.
Satendra Prasad Jain v. State of U.P (1993) 4 SCC
369 : 1993 (2) Suppl. SCR 336; Meera Sahni v. Lt.
Governor of Delhi & Ors. (2008) 9 SCC 177 : 2008
c (10) SCR 1012; Nell' Reviera Coop. Housing Society
v. Special Land Acquisition Officer (1996) 1 SCC 731
: 1995 (6) Suppl. SCR 169; Sunder " Union of India
(2001) 7 SCC 211 : 2005 (3) Suppl. SCR 901; Ba11galore
Development Authority v. R. Hanumaiah (2005) 12 SCC
508 : 2008 (10) SCR 1012; Laxmi Devi v. State of Bihar
D (2015) 10 sec 241 : 2015 (11) SCR 179; Raghbir
Singh Sehrawat v. State of Haryana & Ors. (2012) 1
SCC 792 : 2011 (14) SCR 1113 - referred to.
Case Law Reference
1993 (2) Suppl. SCR 336 referred to Para 7
E
2008 (10) SCR 1012 referred to Para 7
1995 (6) Suppl. SCR 169 referred to Para 10
2005 (3) Suppl. SCR 901 referred to Para 10
2015 (11) SCR 179 referred to Para 10
F 2008 (10) SCR 1012 referred to Para26
2011 (14) SCR 1113 referred to Para 28
2014 (1) SCR 783 relied on Para30
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 5811 of
2015
G
WITH
C. A. No. 8857 of2016.
From the Judgment and Order dated 18.11.2014 of the High Court
of Delhi at New Delhi in W. P. (C) No. 4375 of2014.
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 233
OTHERS

Amerendra Sharan, Sr, Adv., Ms. Bi nu Tamta, Dhruv Tamta, Ms. A
Rachna Srivastava, Advs. for the Appellant.
V. Giri, A. K. Sanghi, Sr. Advs., Mahesh Agarwal, Ms. Devika
Mohan (For E. C. Agrawala), Hemant Malhotra, Sachin Gupta, Ms.
Sukirti, Pankaj Malhotra, Advs. for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by B

R.F.NARIMAN, J. 1. Leave granted in S.L.P(C) No. 28304 of
2015.
2. These two appeals revisit the question of the correct construction
of Section 24(2) of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency c
in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
(hereinafter referred to as "the 2013 Act"). We are constrained to
observe that we are hearing these matters despite the fact that the law
has been settled in Pone Municipal Corporation v. H.M. Solanki,
2014 (3) sec 183, which is now stare dee is is in that it has been followed
in a large number ofjudgments 1 • D
3. The facts of the present case are as follows. A Notification
under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was issued on 241h
October, 1961, stating that the public purpose for acquisition was the
planned development of Delhi. This Notification covered large tracts of
land in and around Delhi. In this case, we are concerned with 33 bighas E
and 1 biswa ofland in the Vasant Kunj area of New Delhi. This Section
4 Notification was followed by a Notification under Section 6 dated 41h
January, 1969, which in turn, was followed by notices issued under Section
I Bimla Devi & Ors. V. State ofHaryana & Ors. (2014) 6 sec 583 at para 3: Union of

India (UOI) and Ors. ,._Shi,· Raj and Ors. (2014) 6 SCC 564 at para 22: Sree Bala.ii F
Nagar Residential Association v. State of Tamil Nadu (201513 SCC 353 at para 14:
State of Haryana v. Vinod Oil and General Mills 2014 ( 15) SCC 4 l 0 at para 21: Sita
Ram v. State ofHaryana & Anr. (2015) 3 SCC 597 at paras 19. 21: Ram Kishan & Ors
v. State ofHaryana & Ors. (2015) 4 SCC 347 at paras 8. 9. 12: Vela'l:an Kumar"· Union
oflndia & Ors. 2015 (4) SCC 325 at· paras 15. 16. 17: Karnail Kaur v. State of Punjab
(2015) 3 SCC 206 at paras 17. 18. 23: Raj iv Choudhrie HUF v. Union of India and Ors. G
2015 (3) SCALE 203 at para I: Competent Automobiles Co. Ltd.,.. Union of India and
Ors. AIR 2015 SC 3186 at para 4: Go\'t. ofNCT of Delhi and Ors,._ Jagjit Singh and
Ors. AIR 2015 SC 2683 at para 3: Karan Singh and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Ors.
2015 (7) SCALE l 91 at para 5: Delhi De,·clopment Authority\'. Sukhbir Singh & Ors.
SLP (CC) No. 5569 of 2015 at page 5: Shashi Gupta and Ors. "· State of Haryana and
Ors. 2016 (5) SCALE 636 al para 5. H
234 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A 9 on 26'h April, 1983. An award relating to the aforesaid land was then
made by the Land Acquisition Collector, New Delhi, only on I2'h
December, 1997. Possession of the said land, being an open piece of
land, was taken by a Panchnama dated 27'h January, 2000. An affidavit
that has been filed by the Commissioner, Land Management, Delhi
Development Authority in this Court, pursuant to an order of this Court
B
dated 17th April, 2015, discloses that the requisite compensation for taking
over the said land was deposited by the DOA with the Land Acquisition
Collector only in the year 2002. The said affidavit goes on to state that
since the land had been sold to Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 in the present
case, there was a dispute as to who would receive compensation and
c that, therefore, compensation could neither be paid nor tendered.
4. On the eve of the coming into force of the 2013 Act (on I"
January, 2014 ), an application styled as a Petition under Article 227 of
the Constitution oflndia was made by the Land Acquisition Collector in
the High Court of Delhi on 27'h December, 2013, requesting the High
D Court of Delhi to accept cheques towards compensation amounts under
the award dated ] 2th December, 1997, stating that non-deposit of
compensation on or before 31" December, 2013 would adversely affect
the acquisition proceedings inasmuch as the proceedings might lapse in
view of the fact that the 2013 Act has been notified to take effect from
I" January, 2014. An order dated 30'" December, 2013 was passed by
E the High Court on this application stating that the petition stands disposed
of, recording that without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the
land owners, the cheques tendered in each petition would be treated as
a tender to the court of the learned Additional District Judge, Delhi as on
today i.e. 30th December, 2013.
F 5. The original land holders thereafter presented a Writ Petition,
being Writ Petition No. 4375of2014 before the High Court of Delhi, on
26th May, 2014, stating that as possession had not been taken and as
compensation had neither been tendered nor paid to the petitioner, the
requisite conditions of Section 24(2) of The Right to Fair Compensation
G and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Act, 2013 would be met, and that, as a result, the acquisition proceedings
had lapsed. No affidavit in reply was filed to the aforesaid writ petition.
By the impugned judgment dated ] 8th November, 2014, the High Court
of Delhi allowed the said petition based on the judgment in Pune
Municipal Corporation, and other judgments following the same,
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 235
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN. J.]

stating: .A
"5. Without going into the controversy with regard to physical
possession, this much is clear that the award \Vas made
more than five years prior to the commencement of the
2013 Act and the compensation has also not been paid.
The necessary ingredients for the application of Section 8
24(2) of the 2013 Act, as interpreted by the Supreme Court
and this court in the following decisions, stand satisfied:
(i) Pune Municipal Coporation and Anr. v. H.M. Solanki,
2014(2)SCC 183,
(ii) Union of India & Ors. V. Shiv Raj & Ors., (2014) 6 c
sec 564.
(iii) Sree Balaji Nagar Residential Association v. State of
Tamil Nadu & Ors.: Civil Appeal No. 8700/2013.
(iv) Surender Singh v. Union of India & Others: W.P.(C) D
No. 2294/2014 decided on 12.09.2014 by this Comt; and
(v) Gyanender Singh & Ors. V. Union of India & Ors.,
W.P.(C)No. 1393/2014, 10.09.2014.
6. As a result, the petitioners are entitled to a declaration
that the said acquisition proceedings initiated under the 1894 E
Act in respect of the subject lands are deemed to have
lapsed. It is so declared."
6. The present appeals have, therefore, been filed by both the
Land Acquisition Collector and the ODA.
7. Shri Amarendra Sharan, Senior Advocate, appearing for the F
DOA and Ms. Rachna Srivastava, Advocate,' appearing for the Land
Acquisition Collector, have argued before us that Pune Municipal
Corporation needs to be revisited on essentially two grounds. The first
is that at least as far as Delhi is concerned, it is governed by a Standing
Order of26'h June, 1909 as amended up to date, in which one method of G
making payment under Section 31 of the Land Acquisition Act is by
deposit in the treasury. The distinguishing feature of this case is,
therefore, that unlike in Pune Municipal Corporation, deposit in a
treasury is a recognized mode of making payment for the purpose of
Section 31 of the Land Acquisition Act, and that this being the case, it is
H
236 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A clear that Pune Municipal Corporation would not, therefore, apply to
the facts of the present case. A second argument was also made by
both the learned counsels to the effect that Pone Municipal
Corporation did not notice that since possession had been taken in the
facts of the present case, in the year 2000, vesting of the land in the
State had already taken place and the original owner had been divested
B
of his title. This being the case, the acquisition proceedings being over in
the year 2000, no question of lapse of a proceeding that is already over
can possibly take place in the year2014 after the enactment of the 2013
Act. For the aforesaid proposition, the learned counsel relied upon
Satendra Prasad Jain v. State of U.P., (1993) 4 SCC 369. They
c further argued that, in the present case, a subsequent purchaser had
come into the picture by a registered sale deed dated 23'd June, 1992.
This being the case, it is clear that the State was in a dilemma as to who
should be paid compensation, and it is for this reason that compensation
was neither tendered nor paid after the award. For this purpose, they
relied upon Meera Sahni v. Lt. Governor of Delhi & Ors., (2008) 9
D
sec 177.
8. The submissions of both the learned counsels were rebutted by
Shri A.K. Sanghi, Senior Advocate, appearing on behalf of the original
owner and Shri V. Giri, appearing on behalfof the subsequent purchasers.
Both the learned counsels emphasized the fact that compensation money
E had neither been tendered or paid in accordance with Section 31 of the
Land Acquisition Act. They further went on to state that even possession
had not been taken in accordance with law as no notice had been issued
to the land owners before taking possession and, that therefore, this was
a case which was covered by both contingencies mentioned in Section
F 24(2) of the 2013 Act. They also argued that it is too late in the day to go
back on the ratio of Pune Municipal Corporation, which squarely
applies on the facts of the present case, as it has now been followed in
a catena of judgments.
9. Having heard the arguments on both sides, it is necessary to
G first set out the relevant provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. In these
appeals; we are directly concerned with Section 11 under which enquiry
and award are to be made by the Collector, Section 12 which states that
the Collector is to give immediate notice of his award to persons interested
who are not present personally when the award is made; Section 16
which deals with the taking of possession and vesting ofland; and Sections
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 237
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

31 and 34 which deal with payment of compensation. Accordingly, the A
said Sections are set out herein below:
"I 1. Enquiry and award by Collector. - (I) On the day
so fixed, or on any other day to which the enquiry has been
adjourned, the Collector shall proceed to enquire into the
objection (if any) which any person interested has stated 8
pursuant to a notice given under section 9 to the
measurements made under section 8, and into the value of
· the land at the date of the publication of the notification
under section 4, sub-section (I), and into the respective
interests of the persons claiming the compensation and shall
make an award under his hand of- c
(i) the true area of the land;
(ii) the compensation which in his opinion should be allowed
for the land; and
(iii) the apportionment of the said compensation among all D
the persons known or believed to be interested in the land,
or whom, or of whose claims, he has information, whether
or not they have respectively appeared before him :
Provided that no award shall be made by the Collector under
this sub-section without the previous approval of the E
appropriate Government or of such officer as the appropriate
Government may authorize in this behalf: ·
Provided further that it shall be competent for the appropriate
Government to direct that the Collector may make such
award without such approval in such class of cases as the. F
appropriate Government may specify in this behalf.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I),
ifat any stage of the proceedings, the Collector is satisfied
that all the persons interested in the land who appeared
before him have agreed in writing on the matters to be G
included in the award of the Collector in the form prescribed
by rules made by the appropriate Government, he may,
without making further enquiry, make an award according
to the terms of such agreement.

H
238 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A (3) The determination of compensation for any land under
sub-section (2) shall not in any way affect the determination
of compensation in respect of other lands in the same locality
or elsewhere in accordance with the other provisions of
this Act.
B (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Registration
Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), no agreement made under sub-
section (2) shall be liable to registration under that Act.
12. Award·ofCollectorwhen to be final.-(!) Such award
shall be filed in the Collector's office and shall, except as
c hereinafter provided, be final and conclusive evidence, as
between the Collector and the persons interested, whether
they have respectively appeared before the Collector or
not, of the true area and value of the land, and the
appointment of the compensation among the persons
interested.
D
(2) The Collector shall give immediate notice of his award
to such of the persons interested as are not present
personally or by their representatives when the award is
made.

E 16. Power to take possession. - When the Collector has
made an award under section 11, he may take possession
of the land, which shall thereupon vest absolutely in the
Government, free from all encumbrances.
31. Payment of compensation or deposit of same in
Court. - (I) On making an award under section 11, the
F
Collector shall tender payment of the compensation awarded
by him to the persons interested entitled thereto according
to the award and shall pay it to them unless prevented by
some one or more of the contingencies mentioned in the
next sub-section.
G
(2) If they shall not consent to receive it, or if there be no
person competent to alienate the land, or if there be any
dispute as to the title to receive the compensation or as to
the appo1tionment of it, the Collector shall deposit the amount
of the compensation in the Cou1t to which a reference under
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 239
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

section 18 would be submfoed: A
Provided that any person admitted to be interested may
receive such payment under protest as to the sufficiency
of the amount:
Provided also that no person who has received the amount
otherwise than under protest shall be entitled to make any B
application under section 18:
Provided also that nothing herein contained shall affect the
liability of any person, who may receive the whole or ahy
part of any compensation awarded under this Act, to pay
the same to the person lawfully entitled thereto. c
(3) Notwithstanding anything in this section the Collector
may, with the sanction of the appropriate Government
instead of awarding a money compensation in respect of
any land, make any arrangement with a person having a
limited interest in such land, either by the grant of other D
lands in exchange, the remission of land-revenue on other
lands held under the same title, or in such other way as
may be equitable having regard to the interests of the parties
concerned.
(4) Nothing in the last foregoing sub-section shall be E
construed to interfere with or limit the power of the Collector
to enter into any arrangement with any person interested in
the land and competent to contract in respect thereof.
34. Payment of interest - When the amount of such
compensation is not paid or deposited on or before taking F
possession of the land, the Collector shall pay the amount
awarded with interest thereon at the rate of nine per centum
per annum from the time of so taking possession until it
shall have been so paid or deposited:
Provided that if such compensation or any part thereof is G
not paid or deposited within a period of one year from the
date on which possession is taken, interest at the rate of
fifteen per centum per annum shall be payable from the
date or expiry of the said period of one year on the amount
of compensation or part thereof which has not been paid or
H
240 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A deposited before the date of such expiry."
I0. The scheme of the Land Acquisition Act, in so far as the
making of award and the payment of compensation to persons interested,
is as follows. On the day fixed, the Collector after the inquiry that is
contemplated under Section I I, has to make an award which must contain
B the necessary ingredients mentioned in Section I I. As soon as the award
is made, under Section I2(2) of the Act, the Collector is to give immediate
notice of the award to such of the persons interested as are not present
personally. This provision, when read with Section 3 I of the Act, makes
it clear that the statutory scheme is that the Collector is to tender payment
of compensation awarded by him to the persons who are interested and
c entitled thereto, according to the award, on the date of making the award
itself. It is therefore, clear that under the statutory scheme, the Collector
must be armed with the amount of compensation payable to persons
interested as soon as the award is made. Such persons have to be paid
the sum mentioned in the award, it being well settled that the award is
D only an offer which may be accepted or rejected by the claimants. If
accepted, whether under protest or otherwise, it is the duty of the Collector
to make payment as soon as possible after making the award. It is only
in a situation where the persons interested refuse consent to receive
monies payable, or there be no person competent to alienate the land, or
if there be any dispute as to title to receive compensation or its
E apportionment, is the Collector to deposit the amount of compensation in
the reference court. It is only after these steps have been taken that the
Collector may take possession of the land, which shall thereupon vest
absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances. The Act
further makes it clear, on a reading of Section 34, that where such
F compensation is neither paid or deposited on or before taking possession
of the land, interest is payable at the rate of 9 per cent per annum for
one year and 15 per cent per annum thereafter. This is because a person
becomes divested of both possession and title to his property without
compensation having been paid or deposited, as the case may be. This
statutory scheme has been-adverted to in some of the decisions of this
G Court. In New Reviera Coop. Housing Society v. Special Land
Acquisition Officer, (1996) I SCC 73 I at para 3, this Court held:
" ... Once the award has been made and compensation has
been deposited or paid under Section 31 ofthe Act, the Land
Acquisition Officer is entitled to take possession and the
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 241
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN; J.]

possession thereby taken stands vested in the State under A
Section 16 of the Act free from all encumbrances ... "
In Sunder v. Union oflndia, (2001) 7 SCC 211 at para 24, this
Court held:
" ... What the legislature intended was to make the B
aggregate amount under Section 23 of the Act to reach the
hands of the person as and when the award is passed, at
any rate as soon as he is deprived of the possession of his
land. Any delay in making payment of the said sum should
enable the party to have interest on the said sum until he
receives the payment. Splitting up the compensation into c
different components for the purpose of payment of interest
under Section 34 was not in the contemplation of the
legislature when that section was framed or enacted."
In Bangalore Development Authority v. R. Hanumaiah,
(2005) 12 SCC 508 at para 47, this Court held: D
" ... Section 31 contemplates that on making of an award
under Section 11 the Collector shall tender amount of
compensation awarded by him to the µerson interested and
entitled thereto according to the award and shall pay to
them unless prevented by any one or more of the E
contingencies mentioned in the subsequent clauses. None
of those contingencies arose in the present case. Thus, once
the amount was tendered and paid the acquisition process
was complete. After making the award under Section 11
the Collector can take possession of the land under Section
F
16 which shall thereupon vest absolutely in the Government
free from all encumbrances. In the instant case, after making
the payment in terms of the award, possession was taken.
The acquisition process stood completed .... "
11. Given the fact that the State has been prompt in acquiring land
for public purposes, but tardy in tendering or paying compensation, the G
2013 Act came in as a beneficial legislation to the aid, in particular, of
poor farmers whose lands had been acquired under the Land Acquisition
Act but compensation had not been tendered or paid as required under
the said Act. With this object in mind, Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act was
H
242 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A enacted. Section 24 reads as follows:
"24. Land acquisition process under Act No. 1 of 1894
shall be deemed to have lapsed in certain cases.-( I) ·
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, in any case
of land acquisition proceedings initiated under the Land
B AcquisitionAct, 1894,-
(a) where no award under section 11 of the said Land
Acquisition Act has been made, then, all provisions of this
Act relating to the determination of compensation shall apply;
or
c (b) where an award under said section 11 has been made,
then such proceedings shall continue under the provisions
of the said Land Acquisition Act, as ifthe said Act has not
been repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I),
D in case ofland acquisition proceedings initiated under the
Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894), where an award
under the said section 11 has been made five years or more
prior to the commencement of this Act but the physical
possession of the land has not been taken or the
E compensation has not been paid the said proceedings shall
be deemed to have lapsed and the appropriate Government,
if it so chooses, shall initiate the proceedings of such land
acquisition afresh in accordance with the provisions of this
Act:
Provided that where an award has been made and
F
compensation in respect of a majority ofland holdings has
not been deposited in the account of the beneficiaries, then,
all beneficiaries specified in the notification for acquisition
under section 4 of the said Land Acquisition Act, shall be
entitled to compensation in accordance with the provisions
G of this Act."
12. Section 24(1) begins with a 11011-obsta11te clause and covers
situations where either no award has been made under the Land
Acquisition Act, in which case the more beneficial provisions of the
2013 Act relating to determination of compensation shall apply, or where
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 243
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

an award has been made under Section 11, land acquisition proceedings A
shall continue under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act as ifthe
said Act had not been repealed.
13. To Section 24( I )(b) an important exception is carved out by
Section 24(2). The necessary ingredients of Section 24(2) are as follows:
(a) Section 24(2) begins with a 11011-obstante clause keeping sub- B
section (I) out of harm's way;
(b) For it to apply, land acquisition proceedings should have been
initiated under the Land Acquisition Act;
(c) Also, an award under Section 11 should have been made 5 c
years or more prior to the commencement of the 2013 Act;
(d) Physical possession of the land, ifnot taken, or compensation,
if not paid, are fatal to the land acquisition proceeding that had been
initiated underthe Land Acquisition Act; ·
(e) The fatality is pronounced by stating that the said proceedings D
shall be deemed to have lapsed, and the appropriate Government, if it so
chooses, shall, in this game of snakes and ladders, start all over again.
14. The picture that therefore emerges on a reading of Section
24(2) is that the State has no business to expropriate from a citizen his
property if an award has been made and the necessary steps to complete E
acquisition have not been taken for a period of five years or more. These
steps include the taking of physical possession of land and payment of
compensation. What the legislature is in effect telling the executive is
that they ought to have put their house in order and completed the
acquisition proceedings within a reasonable time after pronouncement
F
of award. Not having done so even after a leeway of five years is
given, would cross the limits of legislative tolerance, after which the
whole proceeding would be deemed to have lapsed. It is important to
notice that the Section gets attracted ifthe acquisition proceeding is not
completed within five years after pronouncement of the award. This
may happen either because physical possession of the land has not been G
taken or because compensation has not been paid, within the said period
of five years. A faint submission to the effect that 'or' should be read as
'and' must be turned down for two reasons. The plain natural meaning
of the sub-section does not lead to any absurdity for us to replace language
advisedly used by the Legislature. Secondly, the object of the Act, and
H
244 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A Section 24 in particular, is that in case an award has been made for five
years or more, possession ought to have been taken within this period, or
else it is statutorily presumed that the balance between the citizen's right
to retain his own property and the right of the State to expropriate it for
a public purpose gets so disturbed as to make the acquisition proceedings
lapse. Alternatively, if compensation has not been paid within this
B
period, it is also statutorily presumed that the aforesaid balance gets
disturbed so as to free such property from acquisition.
15. The stage is now setto consider the arguments of the appellants
before us. Before doing so, it is important to first set out what exactly
has been held in the landmark judgment of three Hon'ble Judges (in
c which one of us Kurian, J. is a member) in the Pune Municipal
Corporation case. The Comt was concerned with what is the true
meaning of the expression "compensation has not been paid" occurring
in Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act. It is important first to notice the argument
that was made on behalf of the Pune Municipal Corporation and the
D Land Acquisition Collector which is, in paragraph 7, extracted herein
below:
"On the other hand, on behalf of the Corporation and so
also for the Collector, it is argued that the award was made
by the Special Land Acquisition Officer on 31-1-2008
E strictly in terms of the 1894 Act and on the very day the
landowners were informed regarding the quantum of
compensation for their respective lands. Notices were also
issued to the landowners to reach the Office of the Special
Land Acquisition Officer and receive the amount of
compensation and since they neither received the
F compensation nor any request came from them to make
reference to the District Court under Section 18, the
compensation amounting to Rs 27 croxes was deposited in
the Government treasu1y. It is, thus, submitted that there
was no default on the part of the Special Land Acquisition
G Officer or the Government and, hence, the acquisition
proceedings have not lapsed. Moreover, reliance is also
placed on Section 114 of the 2013 Act and it is argued that
the concluded land acquisition proceedings are not at all
affected by Section 24(2) and the only right that survives to
the landowners is to receive compensation." [para 7]
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 245
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

16. After setting out Section 24(2), the Court went on to hold: A
"Section 24(2) also begins with non obstante clause. This
provision has overriding effect over Section 24(1 ). Section
24(2) enacts that in relation to the land acquisition
proceedings initiated under the 1894 Act, where an award
has been made five years or more prior to the 8
commencement of the 2013 Act and either of the two
contingencies is satisfied viz. (i) physical possession of the
land has not been taken, or (ii) the compensation has not
been paid; such acquisition proceedings shall be deemed to
have lapsed. On the lapse of such acquisition proceedings,
ifthe appropriate Government still chooses to acquire the c
land which was the subject-matterofacquisition under the
1894 Actthen it has to initiate the proceedings afresh under
the 2013 Act. The proviso appended to Section 24(2) deals
with a situation where in respect of the acquisition initiated
under the 1894 Act an award has been made and D
compensation in respect of a majority oflandholdings has
not been deposited in the account of the beneficiaries then
all the beneficiaries specified in the Section 4 notification
become entitled to compensation under the 2013 Act.
Section 31 ( 1) of the 1894 Act enjoins upon the Collector, E
on making an award under Section 11, to tender payment
of compensation to persons interested entitled thereto
according to award. It further mandates the Collector to
make payment of compensation to them unless prevented
by one of the contingencies contemplated in sub-section
(2). The contingencies contemplated in Section 31 (2) are: F
(i) the persons interested entitled to compensation do not
consent to receive it, (ii) there is no person competent to
alienate the land, and (iii) there is dispute as to the title to
receive compensation or as to the apportionment of it. If
due to ariy of the contingencies contemplated in Section G
31 (2), the Collector is prevented from making payment of
compensation to the persons interested who are entitled to
compensation, then the Collector is required to deposit the
compensation in the court to which reference under Section
18 may be made.
H
246 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A Simply put, Section 3 I of the 1894 Act makes provision for
payment of compensation or deposit of the same in the court.
This provision requires that the Collector should tender
payment of compensation as awarded by him to the persons
interested who are entitled to compensation. If due to
happening of any contingency as contemplated in Section
B
31 (2), the compensation has not been paid, the Collector
should deposit the amount of compensation in the court to
which reference can be made under Section 18.
The mandatory nature of the provision in Section 31 (2) with
regard to deposit of the compensation in the coui1 is further
c fortified by the provisions contained in Sections 32, 33 and
34. As a matter of fact, Section 33 gives power to the court,
on an application by a person interested or claiming an
interest in such money, to pass an order to invest the amount
so deposited in such Government or other approved
D securities and may direct the interest or other proceeds of
any such investment to be accumulated and paid in such
manner as it may consider proper so that the parties
interested therein may have the benefit therefrom as they
might have had from the land in respect whereof such money
shall have been deposited or as near thereto as may be.
E
While enacting Section 24(2), Parliament definitely had in
its view Section 31 of the 1894 Act. From that one thing is
clear that it did not intend to equate the word "paid" to
"offered" or "tendered". But at the same time, we do not
think that by use of the word "paid", Parliament intended
F receipt of compensation by the landowners/persons
interested. In our view, it is not appropriate to give a literal
construction to the expression "paid" used in this sub-section
[sub-section (2) ofSection24]. lfa literal construction were
to be given, then it would amount to ignoring the procedure,
G mode and manner of deposit provided in Section 31 (2) of
the 1894 Act in the event of happening of any of the
contingencies contemplated therein which may prevent the
Collector from making actual payment of compensation.
We are of the view, therefore, that for the purposes of
Section 24(2),,the compensation shall be regarded as "paid"
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 247
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

ifthe compensation has been offered to the person interested A
and such compensation has been deposited in the court
where reference under Section 18 can be made on
happening of any of the contingencies contemplated under
Section 31 (2) of the 1894 Act. In other words, the
compensation may be said to have been "paid" within the
B
·meaning of Section 24(2) when the Collector (or for that
matter Land Acquisition Officer) has discharged his
obligation and deposited the amount of compensation in court
and made that amount available to the interested person to
be dealt with as provided in Sections 32 and 33.
The 1894 Act being an expropriatory legislation has to be
c
strictly followed. The procedure, mode and manner for
payment of compensation are prescribed in Part V (Sections
31-34) of the 1894 Act.The Collector, with regard to the
payment of compensation, can only act in the manner so
provided. It is settled proposition oflaw (classic statement D
of Lord Roche in Nazir Ahmad [Nazir Ahmad v. King
Emperor, (1935-36) 63 IA 372 : (1936) 44 LW 583 : AIR
1936 PC 253 (2)) ) that where a power is given to do a
certain thing in a certain way, the thing must be done in that
way or not at all. Other methods of performance are
necessarily forbidden. E

Now, this is admitted position that award was made on 31-
1-2008. Notices were issued to the landowners to receive
the compensation and since they did not receive the
compensation, the amount (Rs 27 crores) was deposited in
the Government treasury. Can it be said that deposit of the F
amount of compensation in the Government treasury is
equivalent to the amount of compensation paid to the
landowners/persons interested? We do not think so. In a
comparatively recent decision, this Court in Agnelo
Santimano Fernandes [Iva Agnelo Santimano G
Fernandes v. State of Goa, (2011) 11 SCC 506: (2011) 4
SCC (Civ) 268], relying upon the earlier decision in Prem
Nath Kapur [Prem Nath Kapur v. National Fertilizers
Corpn. ofIndia Ltd., ( 1996) 2 SCC 71] , has held that the
deposit of the amount of the compe11sation in the State's
H
248 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A revenue account is of no avail and the liability of the State
to pay interest subsists till the amount has not been deposited
in court.
From the above, it is clear that the award pertaining to the
subject land has been made by the Special Land Acquisition
B Officer more than five years prior to the commencement
of the 2013 Act. It is also admitted position that
compensation so awarded has neither been paid to the
landowners/persons interested nor deposited in the court.
The deposit of compensation amount in the Government
treasury is of no avail and cannot be held to be equivalent
c to compensation paid to the landowners/persons interested.
We have, therefore, no hesitation in holding that the subject
land acquisition proceedings shall be deemed to have lapsed
under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act." [paras 11, 14-20]
17. Both the learned counsels on behalf of the appellants first
D sought to distinguish the aforesaid judgment with reference to Standing
Order No. 28 of 1909 which applies to Delhi. In so far as the said
Standing Order is relevant to this case, its provisions are set out
herein below:
"71. Payment of compensation when made - As soon
E as the award has been announced the acquiring officer will
proceed to pay the compensation awarded to those persons
who are present and who accept the award. Sufficient notic~
should be given to enable all payees to assemble at the
place where they will receive their dues but no time should
F be wasted on useless endeavours to secure the attendance
of absentees. A note shall be made of the names of those
persons who refused to accept the amount awarded or who
accept it under protest. Much trouble will be avoided if the
principle that payment of compensation should be made at
the time of award, is strictly observed. Most of the persons
G interested will then be present and immediate payment will
save them the necessity of making frequent journeys to the
tehsil. It will usually be found of advantage to draw in
advance a sum sufficient to cover the probable amount of
the award and to make payments against this especially
H when the award is announced at a place distant from the
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 249
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

headquarters. A
73. Statement to be forwarded to the Accountant
General - When an award is made under Section 11 of
the Act the acquiring officer shall have a statement prepared
in the following Form marked AA showing the amounts
payable to each person under the award and shall, on the B
day the award is made, forward a copy of this statement
signed by him to the accountant general or other audit office1~
with whom he is in account and the Deputy Commissioner
concerned simultaneously with a certificate that the land
has been taken possession of and mutated in favour of
Government fiving the number and date of the attested
c
mutation. On the basis of this certificate, the Deputy
Commissioner may forward a proposal to the Financial
Commissioner for sanctioning reduction of land revenue
under Paragraph 79 infra. Before signing the copy the
Officer should carefully satisfy himself that it correctly D
shows the amounts due under the award and should himself
enter the total of column 6 of the statement in words both
in the original and copy. Subsidiary statement in Form AA
below, giving particulars regarding the acceptance by the
persons concerned of the amounts entered in column 6 of
the Award statement should also be furnished to the auditing E
officer as soon as possible. If the subsidiary statement is
not complete on the day that the award is made, the
necessary entries in column 7 of the statement in Form A
will be made in the auditing office on receipt of the statement
in Form AA. F
FORM AA
Particulars regarding the acceptance by the persons
concerned of amounts entered in award statement no.
- - - - dated 200
G
Name of work for which land has been acquired
- - - - No. and date of declaration in - - - -
Gazette viz No. dated
1968 _ _ _ _ page _ _ __
H
250 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016) 5 S.C.R.

A I. 2. 3.
PARTICULARS OF AMOUNT ENTERED IN
COLUMN 6 OF THE AWARD STATEMENT

B Serial No. Name of (a) (b) (c) Amount
in the person to ~ndisbursed
statement whom Amount Amount Amount owing to
award payment accepted accepted deposited ~on-

under is made witlxrnt under in Courtattendan:e
Section 11 under the protest protest and the
c of the Act award Reasons for lreasury in
depositing ~hich it is
deposited
'
Rs. p Rs. p Rs. P

D
Note - In noting these particulars in the award statement, it may be
sufficient to enter the letter a, b, cord as the case may be in column 7
· of the statement when the whole amount of the award is shown in one
of the four sub-columns a, b, c or d in the statement.
E 74. Methods of making payments - There are five
methods of making payments:-
( I) By direct payments, see paragraph 75(1) infra
(2) By order on treasury, see paragraph 75(11) infra
(3) By Money Order, see paragraph 75(III) infra
F (4) By cheque, see paragraph 75(1V) infra
(5) By deposit in a treasury, see paragraph 75(V) infra

75. Direct payments
(V) By treasury deposit - In giving notice of the award
G under Section 12(2) and tendering payment under Section
31 (I) to such of the persons interested as were not present
personally or by their representatives when the award was
made, the officer shall require them to appear personally or
by representatives by a certain date to receive payment of

H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 251
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

the compensation awarded to them, intimating also that no A
interest will be allowed to them if they fail to appear, if they
do not appear and do not apply for a reference to the civil
court under Section 18, the officer shall after any further
endeavours to secure their attendance that may seem
desirable, cause the amounts due to be paid to the treasury
B
as revenue deposited payable to the persons to whom they
are respectively due and vouched for in the Form marked
E below. The officer shall also give notice to the payees of
such deposits, specifying the treasury in which the deposit
has been made. When then payees ultimately claim payment
of sums placed in deposit, the amounts will be paid to them c
in the same manner as ordinary revenue deposit. The officer
should, as far as possible, arrange to make the payments
due in or near the village to which the payee belong in order
that the number of un-disbursed sums to be placed in
deposits on account of non-attendance may be reduced to
D
a minimum. Whenever payment is claimed through a
representative whether before or after deposit of the amount
awarded, such representative must have legal authority for
receiving the compensation on behalf of his principal.

E
Fom1E Fonn E

Name of work for which land Name of work for which land
has been acquired has been acq\tired
F
To the officer incharge of To the · officer incharge of
treasury treasury

Please receive for transfer to Please receive for transfer to
credit of revenue deposit the sum credit of revenue deposit the
of Rs. on account of sum of Rs. on account
G
compensation for land taken up of compensation for land taken
for the above purpose payable as up for the above purpose
detailed below:- ' payable as detailed below:-

H
252 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A Rcm~rls
Serial Name of Area Amount Name Arl!a Amount Remarks

Number in 1ersons of payable of of payable
award owhom land to each persons land to each
statement due to
No. whom
due

Acres Rs. Acres Rs.
B

Total Total
Land Acquisition Officer Land Acquisition Officer
Dated - - - Dated - - -
c
Received the above amount Received the above
and credited to Revenue amount and credited to
deposit Revenue deposit
D Treasury Officer Treasury Officer
Note - this form should be Note - this form should
used when the amounts of be used when the
compensation due are sent amounts of compensation
E
to treasury in the absence of due are sent to treasury in
proprietors who have failed the absence of
to present themselves for proprietors who have
payment. failed to present
F
themselves for payment."

18. Far from the aforesaid Standing Order coming to the assistance
of the appellants, it is clear that the said Standing Order fleshes out
Section 31 of the Land Acquisition Act by insisting that compensation
G must be paid as soon as the award is announced, vide paragraph 71.
Sufficient notice must be given to enable all payees to assemble at a
place where they will receive their dues immediately. It is emphasized
by the s&id paragraph that much trouble will be avoided ifthe principle
that payment of compensation should be made at the time of the award
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 253
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

is strictly observed. Also, it is important that the authorities draw in A
advance a sum sufficient to cover the probable amount of the award
and to make payments.
19. Paragraph 73 makes it clear that payment may be accepted
either without protest or under protest, and Paragraph 74 makes it clear
that there are five methods of making payment. The first.four methods 8
are all methods strictly in consonance with Section 3 1 of the Land
Acquisition Act in that they are all direct payments that have to be made
to persons ready to accept compensation. This is clear from a reading
of sub-paragraphs (I) to (IV) of paragraph 74. Even the second method,
which is payment by order on the treasury, is a direct method of payment
in cases where no officer is specially deputed for acquisition of land. In
c
such cases instead of making a direct payment, a receipt is countersigned
making it immediately payable at the treasury to the payee. Otherwise,
in certain circumstances, payment is to be made by money order and/or
by cheque. When we come to paragraph (V), it is clear that payment is
made into the treasury only when persons who are served notice under D
Section 12(2) are not present personally at the time the award is delivered.
Even though they may not appear at that stage, the officer shall require
them to appear personally or by representatives by a certain date to
receive payment of compensation awarded. It is only if they fail to
appear after such an intimation, and ifthe officer, after further endeavours
to secure their attendance, cannot so secure their attendance, that
E
amounts due are to be paid to the treasury as revenue deposited payable
to persons to whom they are due. It is clear, therefore, that sub-para
(V), when read in its proper perspective, is not a separate mode of
payment by itself as is contended by learned counsel for the appellants.
It is a residuary mode of payment after all necessary efforts have been F
made by the authorities to secure the attendance of the persons entitled
to compensation, and it is only after all such methods have failed that, as
a last resort, the money is then to be deposited in the treasury. In any
case, such deposit in the treasury is referable only to Section 31 ( 1) and
cannot ever be a substitute for deposit before the reference court as
provided under Section 31 (2) of the Land Acquisition Act, which applies G
in the circumstances mentioned in the aforesaid sub-section. We are,
therefore, of the opinion that no distinction between the facts of this
case and the facts in Pune Municipal Corporation can be drawn on

H
254 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A this ground, and the ratio of Pune Municipal Corporation will apply
on all fours to the facts of the present case.
20. On facts, it is clear that neither tender, that is offer to the
original claimant nor payment has been made in the manner provided by
Section 31 read with Standing Order No. 28 of 1909. In the present
B case, as has been admitted in the affidavit filed in this Court, the DOA
was not ready with compensation payable on the day the award was
pronounced, but only handed over such compensation to the Land
Acquisition Collector five years after the award was pronounced, that
is, in 2002. The Land Acquisition Collector, in its tum, did nothing
whatsoever to offer the said sum or pay it to the original owners. On the
c contrary, by moving an application on the eve of the coming into force of
the 2013 Act, and by depositing the said amount of compensation paid to
it in the year 2002 only on 30'h December, 2013, it is clear that the
aforesaid mandatory provision and procedure were not followed by the
authorities. The present original land owners' lands were notified for
D acquisition on 24•h October, 1961, of which possession was taken four
decades later, in 2000; after which the land owners have yet to see the
colour of the paltry amount of compensation offered which has neither
been tendered noP paid to them. In the facts disclosed by this case,
there could not be stronger facts to hold such acquisition 11011 est in
accordance with the object sought to be achieved by Section 24 (2) of
E the 2013 Act.
21. At this juncture, it is necessary to advert to a standing
instruction of the Government ofNCT of Delhi dated 12'h May, 2006 in
which, pursuant to the directions passed by the High Court of Delhi vi de
order dated s•h May 2005 in C.W.P. No. 1161 of 1988, the Government
F ofNCT of Delhi has fixed various time frames to complete acquisition
proceedirigs. In so doing, what is ofsignificance is contained in paragraphs
3 and 4 which are set out herein below:
"3. Taking-over possession of notified land:
G i. As soon as the award is announced, the Land Acquisition
Collector shall compulsorily issue notice to the interested
persons u/s 12 of the L. A. Act and the service of notice
shall be kept in records and shall also submit a demand of
the compensation amount to the Land & Building
Department with a copy to the DOA /intending agency
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 255
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

within 30 days of the announcement of the award. The A
Land & Building Department shall forward the demand to
the ODA within 7 days. ODA/other agency will release
the payment to L&B Deptt. within 30 days after receipt of
the communication from the L&B Department/ LAC as
the case may be. As soon as the money is received by the
B
LAC, notice u/s 12(2) shall be issued. The LAC will
takeover the possession of the land and handover the same
to the DOA/intending department. The Land Acquisition
Collector shall not take possession of the acquired land
unless & until the compensation amount is received by him
from the intending department. c
ii.It has be'en noticed that in a large number of cases, the
LA Cs have not taken over the possession of the notified
land as possession could not be taken by the DOA due to
the fact that the land is heavily bui It up and in some cases,
some unauthorized colonies have come up which are under D
consideration of Govt. oflndia for regularization. In all such
cases, the LACs shall prepare a separate list village wise
and shall be submitted to competent authority for taking a
policy decision.
4. Payment of Compensation/ Enhanced E
Compensation:
On receipt of the amount of compensation from DOA/
Requisitioning Agency and on taking the possession of the
land, the Land Acquisition Collector shall send a reference/
letter within I 5 days to the interested persons for collecting F
the payment of compensation. The Land Acquisition
Collector will make the payment of the compensation within
60 days to the land owner. In case of any dispute, the Land
Acquisition Collector will refer the matter to the ADJ Court
u/s 30 immediately after expiry of the 60 days. If interested
person is not coming forward for taking compensation G
amount and payment cannot be made within 60 days then
compensation amount should be deposited in the court u/s
31 within next 15 days."
22.A cursory reading of these paragraphs will show that it is only
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256 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016) 5 S.C.R.

A pursuant to judicial orders that the'State wakes up from its slumber. It is
important to note that a notice of award under Section 12(2) to persons
interested can only be issued after money is received by the Land
Acquisition Collector, and that the said Collector shall not take possession
ofland unless and until compensation amount is received by him. Further,
actual payment to land owners must be made latest within a period of60
B
days. It is high time that the State realizes that persons whose property
is expropriated need to be paid immediately so as to rehabilitate
themselves. Also, it cannot be forgotten that the amount usually offered
by way of an award of a Land Acquisition Collector under the 1894 Act
is way below the real market value, which is only awarded and paid
c years later when the reference proceedings culmin~te in judgments of
the High Courts and of th is Court.
23. We now come to the argument of Shri Sharan that, in any
case, on the facts of this case, the pitch is queered by the presence of
subsequent purchasers. As has been pointed out in Meera Sahni's
D case [(2008) 9 SCC 177), thatthe moment Section 4 of the Delhi Lands
(Restrictions on Transfer) Act, 1972, applies, a sale subsequent to a
Section 6 notification becomes illegal, being hit by Section 4 of the said
Act. This being the case, it is of no avail to the State, to submit (which
submission has been made in the Supreme Court for the first time), that
there is a dispute between the original owner and the subsequent
E purchaser, as a result of which compensation could neither be tendered
nor paid. Apart from the said plea being an afterthought, it is also of no
avail to either the DOA or the Land Acquisition Collector who, in any
case, were not in any dilemma as to who should be paid. In fact, it is
clear that the deposit made in Court pursuant to the order of the High
F Court of Delhi dated 30 111 December, 2013 has only been made in order
to pay the original owner of the land. Accordingly, this plea has also to
be turned down.
24. We now come to the other grounds on which Shri Sharan, in
particular, based his arguments. According to Shri Sharan, a perusal of
G Section I IA of the Land Acquisition Act would show that acquisition
proceedings can lapse only before vesting takes place, as once the
property is vested in the State, nothing further remains to be done, and
such property can never be reverted to the original owner. Section 11 A
of the Land Acquisition Act is set out herein below:

H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SU~HBIR SINGH & 257
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

"l lA. Period within which an award shall be made- A
The Collector shall make an award under section 11 within
a period of two years from the date of the publication of
the declaration and if no award is made within that period,
the entire proceeding for the acquisition of the land shall
lapse:
B
Provided that in a case where the said declaration has
been published befor0he commencement of the Land
Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 (68of1984), the
award shall be made within a period of two years from
such commencement. c
Explanation - In computing the period of two years
referred to in this section, the period during which any
action or proceeding to be taken in pursuance of the said
declaration is stayed by an order of a Court sh al I be
excluded."
D

25. The judgment ofSatendra Prasad Jain (supra) is also pressed
into service by Shri Sharan, and in particular paragraph 15 thereof, which
reads as under:
"Ordinarily, the Government can take possession of the land
E
proposed to be acquired only after an award of compensation
in respect thereof has been made under Section 11. Upon
the taking of possession the land vests in the Government,
that is to say, the owner of the land loses to the Government
the title to it. This is what Section 16 states. The provisions
of Section 11 A are intended to benefit the landowner and F
ensure that the award is made within a period of two years
from the date of the Section 6 declaration. In the ordinary
case, therefore, when Government fails to make an award
within two years of the declaration under Section 6, the
land has still not vested in the Government and its title
G
remains with the owner, the acquisition proceedings are still
pending and, by virtue of the provisions of Section 11 A,
lapse. When Section 17( I) is applied by reason of urgency,
Government takes possession of the land prior to the making
of the award under Section 11 and thereupon the owner is
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258 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A divested of the title to the land which is vested in the
Government. Section I 7( I) states so in unmistakable terms.
Clearly, Section I IA can have no application to cases of
acquisitions under Section 17 because the lands have
already vested in the Government and there is no provision
in the said Act by which land statutorily vested in the
B
Government can revert to the owner." [para 15]
26. Satendra Prasad Jain's case has been held in a subsequent
judgment, namely, Laxmi Devi v. State of Bihar, (2015) I 0 SCC 241,
to have a limited ratio. The limited ratio has been said to be that it is not
open to the beneficiary of an acquisition who has failed to make the
c necessary monies available, and who has been in occupation of the land
since its possession was taken, to subsequently urge· that such possession
was taken illegally. It is clear that on the facts of that case, it was the
land owners who filed a writ petition asking for a mandamus to complete
the acquisition proceedings, and the State and the beneficiary of
D acquisition tried to resile from it by contending that the acquisition
proceedings had lapsed under Section 11 A of the Act. It was in these
peculiar circumstances that the aforesaid judgment was delivered.
27. Even going by paragraph 15 of the Satendra Prasad Jain's
case, we find that the difference in phraseology between Section 11 A
E of the Land Acquisition Act and Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act really
clinches the issue in favour of the land owners. The expression used in
Section 24(2), namely, "deemed to have lapsed" is of great significance
and differs from the use of the expression "lapsed" in Section 11 A. As is
wel I settled, a deeming fiction is enacted so that a putative state of affairs
must be imagined, the mind not being allowed to boggle at the logical
F consequence of such putative state of affairs. Even if we are to agree
with Shri Sharan that, post vesting, acquisition proceedings cannot be
said to lapse, yet we have to give effect to the deeming fiction contained
in Section 24(2). In fact, Section 24(2) uses the expression "deemed to
have lapsed" because the Legislature was cognizant of the fact that, in
G cases where compensation has not been paid, and physical possession
handed over to the State, vesting has taken place, after which land
acquisition proceedings could be said to have ended. For this reason
also, we are of the view that Pune Municipal Corporation does not
require to be revisited.
28. It remains to deal with one submission of Shri A.K. Sanghi.
H
DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. SUKHBIR SINGH & 259
OTHERS [R.F.NARIMAN, J.]

According to Shri Sanghi, physical possession has not been taken of the A
land in dispute. We are afraid this may not be correct. The Panchnama
dated 27'h January, 2000 specifically records that possession of the land
above stated was recovered and handed over to the representatives of
the Office of Land and Buildings. The Panchnama is also signed by all
the necessary officers. This piece ofland admittedly being open land is
B
governed by the ratio ofRaghbir Singh Sehrawat v. State ofHaryana
& Ors., (2012) I SCC 792 in which it has been held:
"In Banda Development Authority v. Moti Lal Agarwal
[(2011) 5 SCC 394 : (2011) 2 SCC (Civ) 74 7] , the Court
referred to the judgments in Ba/want Narayan Bhagde v.
M.D. Bhagwat [( 1976) I SCC 700] , Bal111oka11d Khatri
c
Educational and l11dustrial Trust v. State of Punjab
[(1996) 4 SCC 212] , P.K. Kalburqi v. State of Karnataka
[(2005) 12 SCC 489], NTPC Ltd. v. Mahesh Dutta [(2009)
8 SCC 339: (2009) 3 SCC (Civ) 375] , Sita Ram Bhandar
Society v. Gow. (NCT of Delhi) [(2009) I 0 SCC 50 I : D
(2009) 4 SCC (Civ) 268] and culled out the following
propositions: (Banda DevelopmentAuthority case [(2011)
5 sec 394: (2011) 2 sec (Civ) 747], sec p. 41 L para
37)
•"(i) No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to what act E
would constitute taking of possession of the acquired land.
(ii) If the acquired lanu is vacant, the act of the State
authority concerned to go to the spot and prepare a
panchnama will ordinarily be treated as sufficient to
constitute taking of possession. F
(iii) If crop is standing on the acquired land or building/
structure exists, mere going on the spot by the authority
concerned will, by itself, be not sufficient for taking
possession. Ordinarily, in such cases, the authority
concerned will have to give notice to the occupier of the
G
building/structure or the person who has cultivated the land
and take possession in the presence of independent
witnesses and get their signatures on the panchnama. Of
course, refusal of the ownerofthe land or building/structure
may not lead to an inference that the possession of the
H
260 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 5 S.C.R.

A acquired land has not been taken.
(iv) If the acquisition is of a large tract ofland, it may not
be possible for the acquiring/designated authority to take
physical possession of each and every parcel of the land
and it will be sufficient that symbolic possession is taken by
B preparing appropriate document in the presence of
independent witnesses and getting their signatures on such
document.
(v) If beneficiary of the acquisition is an agency/
instrumentality of the State and 80% of the total
c compensation is deposited in terms ofSectiort 17(3-A) and
substantial p011ion of the acquired land has been utilised in
furtherance of the particular public purpose, then the court
may reasonably presume that possession of the acquired
land has been taken." [para 27]
D 29. As'the present case will fall within sub-paragraph (ii), physical
possession of the land can be said to have been taken on the facts of the
present case.
30. Having regard to the law declared in the Pune Municipal
Corporation case, as followed by the other judgments of this Court, we
E are of the opinion that the High Court is correct and that the impugned
judgment calls for no interference .. The appeals are, accordingly,
dismissed.

Nidhi Jain Appeals dismissed.
F