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2024 MarsdenLR 2941
COURT OF APPEAL PUTRAJAYA
ORCHARD CIRCLE SDN BHD – Appellant
Versus
PENTADBIR TANAH DAERAH HULU LANGAT & ANOR – Respondent
[Civil Appeal No: B-01(A)-533-07-2022]
Land surrender must comply with statutory provisions; failure to do so invalidates the surrender and affects compensation rights.
Headnote:(A) National Land Code – Sections 200 and 201 – Land Acquisition Act 1960 – Section 37(2) – Appeal concerning land acquisition and surrender – The appellant contended that the impugned land was not surrendered as per legal requirements, impacting compensation assessment – The court found that the surrender was not validly executed under the NLC, necessitating a reassessment of compensation. (Paras 11, 18, 27, 41)
(B) Legal principles on land surrender – The court emphasized that compliance with statutory provisions is mandatory for valid land surrender, and failure to adhere to these provisions raises doubts about the surrender's legality. (Paras 20, 26, 35)
Facts of the case: The appellant submitted Form 12B for land surrender in 1999, but the court found that the legal requirements for surrender were not met by the time of the Gazette publication in 2001, leading to a nominal compensation award. (Paras 5, 6, 11)
Findings of Court: The court determined that the impugned land had not been effectively surrendered according to the NLC, thus the compensation award was flawed. (Paras 42, 44)
Issues: The main issues included whether the impugned land had been surrendered legally and the implications for compensation assessment. (Paras 2, 11)
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the surrender of land must comply with statutory requirements, and failure to do so invalidates the surrender, impacting compensation rights. (Paras 20, 41)
Result: Appeal allowed, High Court order set aside, and matter remitted for compensation assessment.
JUDGMENT
Introduction
[1] This appeal is in relation to a land reference proceeding at the High Court of Shah Alam via proceeding No 15-99-09-2012. The appellant, Orchard Circle Sdn Bhd who was the landowner, was not satisfied with one part of the decision of the High Court to maintain the nominal award granted by the Land Administrator be maintained. Therefore, the appellant filed this appeal.
[2] Before this Court, the appellant's counsel raised one pertinent question of law for determination - whether a total of 17,284.67m2 (the impugned land) out of 19,123.77m2 of the subject land for acquisition, namely Lot 2630 and Lot 8630 (the subject land), had or had not been surrendered to the state authority according to the National Land Code ( NLC ) under Part Twelve - Surrender of Title as at 20 December 2001.
[3] The outcome of the finding to the question of law would determine whether the appellant had been deprived of its right for the impugned land to be properly valued in an assessment exercise at the land inquiry before the Land Administrator.
Salient Facts
[4] The learned High Court Judge in her judgment has set out the history of the case leading to the land reference proceeding at the High Court (see paras 3 to 23 of her Ladyship's judgment; see also Orchard Circle Sdn Bhd v. Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Hulu Langat & Ors, , FC). This Court will not repeat what was stated by the learned High Court Judge here, but will set out only the salient facts relevant to the question of law.
Surrender Of The Subject Land
[5] On 11 January 1999, the appellant submitted Form 12B (Application For Surrender of Land) to the Land Administrator of Hulu Langat District pursuant to s 200 of the NLC . Form 12B was an application for approval to surrender part of the appellant's lands, namely Lot 2629 and Lot 2630. The appellant surrendered part of its land for the purpose of construction of " Jalan, Simpanan Parit JPS, Kolam Takungan Air JPS, Taman Bandar, Tempat Letak Kereta, Buffer Zone". The construction of the road and among others were necessary as part of a commercial development project known as "Pusat Dagangan Putra Kajang" (the development project) which the appellant was the owner and developer of the project.
Declaration Of Acquisition
[6] On 20 December 2001, almost two years after Form 12B of the NLC was submitted for approval by the appellant, the Selangor State Authority published in the Selangor Government Gazette Bil. No 1965 dated 20 December 2001 (the Gazette) a Borang D pursuant to s 8 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 ( LAA ) declaring that the subject land would be acquired for public purpose. The intended acquisition of the subject land was for the purpose of construction of part of a highway project known as "Lebuhraya Penyuraian Trafik Jalan Lingkaran Kajang" or the "SILK Highway"
(Note: the declaration published in the Gazette was before the amendment of s 8 of the LAA . The present s 8 of the came into force on 1 December 2017 [PU(B) 564/2017] vias 7 of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act 2016 [Act A1517]).
At The High Court
[7] The learned High Court Judge held at para 51 of her judgment that the impugned land had been surrendered, and therefore, that surrendered portion should not be included in the calculation of the compensation award. Further, the learned High Court Judge referred to s 37(2) of the LAA and held that no objection could be made to the amount of compensation awarded for acquisition of the impugned land as the sum awarded did not exceed RM3,000.00. The learned High Court Judge concluded as follows:
"[54] For these reasons, it could be argued that OC (the appellant) cannot bring a land reference on the surrendered portion amounting to 17,284.67 square meters as the nominal amount of RM10.00 does not exceed three thousand ringgit as provided in subsection 37(2) of the LAA ."
The Finding Of This Court
The Main Thrust Of The Parties' Contentions In The Appeal
[8] The appellant contended that the impugned
