GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHIversusVIJAY GUPTA & ORS

                        [2023] 3 S.C.R. 673                              673


               GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI                                A
                                  v.
                      VIJAY GUPTA & ORS.
                   (Civil Appeal No. 1784 of 2023)
                         MARCH 24, 2023                                  B
         [M. R. SHAH AND C. T. RAVIKUMAR, JJ.]
      Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 – s.24(2) –
High Court allowing the writ petition filed by respondents-subsequent
                                                                         C
purchasers declared that the acquisition w.r.t the land in question is
deemed to have lapsed by virtue of s.24(2) – Objection as to the
locus of the subsequent purchasers to challenge the acquisition/
lapsing of the acquisition – Held: A subsequent purchaser has no
locus to challenge the acquisition/lapsing of the acquisition – High
Court erred in entertaining the writ petition preferred by the           D
respondents praying for lapsing of the acquisition – There shall
not be any deemed lapse of the acquisition proceedings w.r.t the
land in question – Impugned judgment is quashed and set aside.
      Shiv Kumar & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors. (2019) 10
      SCC 229 : 2019 (13) SCALE 698; Delhi Development                   E
      Authority v. Godfrey Phillips (I) Ltd. & Ors. (2022) 8
      SCC 771; Delhi Administration Thr. Secretary, Land and
      Building Department & Ors. v. Pawan Kumar & Ors.
      (2022) 7 SCC 470 – relied on.
      Government (NCT of Delhi) v. Manav Dharam Trust                    F
      and Anr. (2017) 6 SCC 751 : [2017] 4 SCR 232 –
      referred to.
                       Case Law Reference
[2017] 4 SCR 232                       referred to     Para 2
                                                                         G
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1784
of 2023.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 06.08.2018 of the High Court
of Delhi at New Delhi in WP (C) No. 9196 of 2015.
                                                                         H
                                 673
674             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                           [2023] 3 S.C.R.


A           Chandra Prakash, CP Rajwar, Vivek Singh, Ms. Somi Sharma,
      Advs. for the Appellant.
           Prithvi Pal, Randhir Pandey, Naresh Nagar, Nitin Mishra, Ishaan
      Sharma, Advs. for the Respondents.
            The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
B
            M. R. SHAH, J.
             1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment
      and order passed by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi dated
      06.08.2018 in Writ Petition (C) No. 9196 of 2015 by which the High
C     Court has allowed the said writ petition preferred by the contesting
      respondents herein and has declared that the acquisition with respect to
      the land in question is deemed to have lapsed by virtue of Section 24(2)
      of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
      Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as
      “Act, 2013”), the Government of NCT of Delhi has preferred the present
D     appeal.
            2. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant has
      vehemently submitted that it was the specific case on behalf of the
      appellant before the High Court that as the original writ petitioners before
      the High Court were the subsequent purchasers, they have no locus to
E     challenge the acquisition / lapsing of acquisition. It is submitted that,
      however, despite the above objection, the High Court has entertained
      the writ petition at the instance of the subsequent purchasers and has
      declared that the acquisition with respect to the land in question is deemed
      to have lapsed by virtue of Section 24(2) of the Act, 2013, relying upon
F     the decision of this Court in the case of Government (NCT of Delhi)
      Vs. Manav Dharam Trust and Anr., (2017) 6 SCC 751. It is
      submitted that in view of the decision of this Court in the case of Shiv
      Kumar & Anr. Vs. Union of India & Ors., (2019) 10 SCC 229, the
      decision in the case of Manav Dharam Trust and Anr. (supra) is not
      a good law. It is submitted that as observed and held by this Court in the
G     case of Shiv Kumar & Anr. (supra) followed by this Court in the
      subsequent decisions in the case of Delhi Development Authority
      Vs. Godfrey Phillips (I) Ltd. & Ors., (2022) 8 SCC 771 and Delhi
      Administration Thr. Secretary, Land and Building Department &
      Ors. Vs. Pawan Kumar & Ors., (2022) 7 SCC 470, a subsequent
H
 GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI v. VIJAY GUPTA & ORS.                                675
                [M. R. SHAH, J.]

purchaser has no locus to challenge the acquisition and / or lapsing of          A
the acquisition.
        Making above submissions and relying upon the above decisions,
it is prayed to allow the present appeal.
       3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the contesting
respondents – original writ petitioners is not in a position to dispute that     B
they had purchased the land in question subsequent to the acquisition
proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Even, the learned
counsel appearing on behalf of the original writ petitioners is not in a
position to point out any valid title deed. From the averments in the petition
before the High Court, it appears that the original writ petitioners claimed     C
the relief based on general power of attorney, will, receipt etc., which as
such cannot confer any title on the original writ petitioners.
       4. Be that it may, the fact remains that the respondents can be
said to be subsequent purchasers. As per the law laid down by this
Court in the case of Shiv Kumar & Anr. (supra), which has been                   D
subsequently followed by this Court in the case of Godfrey Phillips (I)
Ltd. & Ors. (supra) and Pawan Kumar & Ors. (supra) and even in
other decisions, a subsequent purchaser has no locus to challenge the
acquisition / lapsing of the acquisition. In that view of the matter, the
High Court has materially erred in entertaining the writ petition preferred
by the original writ petitioners praying for lapsing of the acquisition. On      E
the aforesaid ground alone, the impugned judgment and order passed by
the High Court deserves to be quashed and set aside.
      5. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the
present appeal succeeds. The impugned judgment and order passed by
the High Court is hereby quashed and set aside. There shall not be any           F
deemed lapse of the acquisition proceedings with respect to the land in
question as observed and held by the High Court by the impugned
judgment and order.
      Present appeal is accordingly allowed. However, in the facts and
circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs.                  G
       Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of.

Divya Pandey                                                   Appeal allowed.
(Assisted by : Abhishek Pratap Singh, LCRA)
                                                                                 H