JUDGMENT :

SANJIV KHANNA, J.

Leave granted.

2. The legal issue that arises in these appeals relates to interpretation of Section 24(1)(a) of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (‘2013 Act’, for short), and in particular the question:

Whether the two-year period specified under Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (‘1894 Act’, for short) will apply even after the repeal of the 1894 Act, or the twelve-month period specified in Section 25 of the 2013 Act will apply for the awards made under clause (a) of Section 24(1) of the 2013 Act?

Subsequent to the decision on the aforesaid question of law, we shall consider the second aspect – whether the award dated 30th October 2014 is within the permissible time-limit or whether the acquisition proceedings have lapsed? To answer this question, we shall also examine whether the award claimed to have been passed on 30th October 2014 is backdated and whether the date has been changed by manipulating the award? For convenience and clarity, we would deal with the two issues separately.

3. In order to answer the legal question, some elemental facts are required to be note