IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: January 21, 2026 KHUSHAL SINGH AND ANOTHER ......Appellants Versus STATE OF PUNJAB ........Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARKESH MANUJA Present: Mr. Harsh Manocha, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Athar Ahmed, DAG, Punjab.

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HARKESH MANUJA, J. (ORAL)

CM-3175-CI-2025 This is an application for condoning the delay of 2362 days in filing the review application.

2. Learned counsel representing the respondent-State has failed to file reply to the application despite been afforded sufficient opportunity.

3. Concededly, impugned order dated 08.03.2017, which is under review, was disposed of by this Court in view of the judgment dated 18.01.2016 passed in RFA no. 2207 of 2008 titled as "Ajit Singh Vs. State of Punjab & Anr.” Admittedly, the judgment dated 18.01.2016 passed in "Ajit Singh Case” (supra) has been reviewed by this Court vide order dated 27.08.2025 in RA-RF No. 262 of 2023 and compensation has been enhanced from Rs.8 lakhs per acre to Rs 10,46,742/- per acre. It is also relevant to mention here that the other similarly situated landowners of Village Marauli Kalan pertaining to the same acquisition proceedings have already been held entitled for the enhanced amount of compensation pertaining to the land situated in revenue estate of Village Marauli Kalan/Marauli Khurd, Tehsil Kharar, District Roopnagar (now SAS Nagar), to the tune of Rs.10,46,742/- per acre. The date of notification under Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (hereinafter referred to as 1894 Act.) in present case and in Ajit Singh case (Supra) is same i.e. 04.08.2000.

4. Based thereupon, applying the principle of parity, the land owner/applicant being similarly situated, is entitled for grant of similar amount of compensation, however except the payment of interest for the period he failed to approach this Court after the decision of the Reference Court. In this regard reliance can be placed upon the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of "Ningappa Thotappa Angadi (Dead) through LRs Vs. Special Land Acquisition Officer and Another, 2020(19) SCC 599” and the latest exposition of law laid down in “Mohar Singh (Dead) thr. LRs and ors. vs. State of Uttar Pradesh Collector and ors.” reported as 2023 INSC 1019, whereby, delay of 12 years and 353 days was condoned to accord parity between similarly placed landowners albeit no interest was awarded for delayed period.

The relevant portion thereof is extracted hereunder:-

“12. Having heard learned Senior Counsel for the parties and on perusal of the material placed on record, we are satisfied that the appellants are entitled to seek parity with their covillagers in the grant of compensation for their acquired land. This Court has consistently held in a catena of decisions that the inordinate delay in filing appeal in compensatory matters, per se, may not be fatal as the rights and equities between the parties can be well balanced by denying the statutory benefits, such as interest for the delayed period. We are thus of the considered opinion that the delay in filing the first appeal(s) could be condoned subject to the condition that the appellants would not be entitled to enure undue benefit for the delayed period. We grant such indulgence in the appellant’s favour also for the reason that a batch of first appeals at the instance of other land owners was still pending consideration before the High Court. All that the High Court ought to have emphatically denied to the late-comers was the benefit of interest including on the solatium, under Section 34 of the Act for the period from the date of passing of the award by the Reference Court till the filing of the first appeals.”

Accordingly, in view of the averments made in the application besides the law laid down in the aforementioned judgments, the same is allowed and delay of 2362 days in filing the appeal is hereby condoned.

REVIEW APPLICATION

1. Prayer in the present application is for r