2026 Supreme(Gau) 954

IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
MITALI THAKURIA, J.
Abdul Hamid S/o Late Siraj Uddin – Appellant
Versus
Ilias Uddin S/o Late Main Uddin – Respondent
CRP (IO) No. 240 of 2025
Decided On : 29-04-2026

A Civil Court may issue interim orders restraining the disbursement of land acquisition compensation when the property's title depends on a document currently under judicial challenge in a pending suit, as such measures do not constitute a direct interference with the statutory acquisition process.

Headnote:(A) Constitution of India - Article 227 - Civil Procedure Code - Section 151 - Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 - Sections 63 and 64 - Civil Court Jurisdiction - Land Acquisition - Restraint on disbursement of compensation - Third party challenged an interim order passed in a pending civil suit restraining government disbursement of compensation for acquired land - Contention that jurisdiction of Civil Court is barred by federal legislation regarding land acquisition - The Court evaluated whether interim measures are permissible when the underlying deed defining land title is under challenge before the Court. (Paras 11, 15, 30)

(B) Appellate Jurisdiction - Scope - Intervention in interim orders - An appellate court should not interfere with an interim order of the lower court unless it is shown to be perverse, illegal, or lacking in sound judicial discretion - Where the validity of a document of title is under scrutiny, the trial court balances the equities to avoid irreparable prejudice. (Paras 27, 31)

Facts of the case:
A civil suit was initiated for the declaration of title, interest, and partition. During the pendency of this suit, defendants filed an application to restrain the government authority from disbursing compensation for a specific parcel of acquired land, arguing that the land was governed by a partition deed currently being challenged as fabricated. The trial court directed the authority to withhold the disbursement. A third party, claiming ownership of the acquired land, filed an application for the order to be vacated, arguing that the Civil Court lacked jurisdiction over land acquisition matters and that the land in question was not part of the original suit schedule.

Issues: Whether a Civil Court, in the exercise of its jurisdiction over a pending suit involving contested title documents, is barred by the relevant land acquisition act from issuing interim directions to withhold compensation disbursement, and whether such orders are maintainable against entities not parties to the litigation.

Findings of Court:
The court held that the legislative bar against Civil Court jurisdiction applies to challenges regarding the acquisition process and compensation determination. However, the trial court’s direction to restrain disbursement until the validity of the contested partition deed is decided does not constitute an interference with the acquisition power, but rather an equity-based measure to protect potential interests in a property undergoing litigation.

Ratio Decidendi: When the ownership of acquired land is predicated upon a document of title that is already the subject matter of a pending civil suit, the Civil Court is not barred from passing interim orders to preserve the status quo regarding the disbursement of compensation, provided the order does not interfere with the state's power to acquire property or the statutory determination of compensation amounts.

Result: Petition dismissed.