IMPORTANT POINTS
In view of the SECTION 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 if award was passed 5 years prior to commencement of the Act and no possession has been taken or no compensation has been paid then the acquisition proceedings would lapse.
Taking of possession will be valid if law laid down in (2009) 10 SCC 501 is followed.

JUDGMENT

V.GOPALA GOWDA, J.

Leave granted.

2. I.A. No.7 of 2014 has been filed by the appellant Velaxan Kumar seeking applicability of the beneficial provisions of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (in short ‘the Act of 2013’) for issuing a direction and pass an order for disposal of this appeal in terms of the same. The appellant-land owner has come to this Court questioning the correctness of the common judgment and order dated 09.07.2007 passed by the High Court of Delhi in the writ petitions filed by the land owners including the appellant herein, wherein, the High Court has dismissed the same.

3. Brief facts of the case are as under:

The appellant is the owner of the plot measuring 1278 square yards out of Khasra No.62/19/1 located in the area Village-Prehlad Pur Bangar, National Capital Territory of Delhi (hereafter referred to as ‘the disputed land’) on the basis of a sale deed executed by Kaptan Singh as being the attorney of the land owners in his favour on 02.05.1989 for a total consideration amount of Rs.40,000/-.

4. The Notification No. F-10(29)/96/L&B/LA/11394 under Section 4 and 17 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the L.A. Act’) was issued on 27.10.1999 by the Land Acquisition Collector in the name of Respondent No.1.

5. The appellant and other land owners objected to the issuance of notification by invoking an emergency clause under Section 17 of the L.A. Act as his land is built up and falls within 50 meters of village- Abadi of Lal Dora, hence his land should be exempted/denotified from acquisition as per policy of the Government dated 02.12.1998. Thereafter, the notification was issued under Section 6 read with Section 17 of the L.A. Act on 03.04.2000 in respect of the land sought to be acquired including the land owned by the appellant.

6. The Land Acquisition Collector, Kanjhawala passed an award on 03.04.2002 in respect of the disputed land of village-Pansali.

7. The appellant challenged the said award by the Land Acquisition Collector by way of filing a writ petition (W.P. (c) No.5528 of 2001) in the High Court of Delhi which was dismissed by the High Court vide its common judgment and order dated 09.07.2007.

8. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant filed this appeal by way of special leave in this Court. This Court issued notice and also granted interim stay of the order passed by the High Court vide its order dated 17.09.2007.

9. It has been contended by the learned counsel for the appellant that during the pendency of this appeal, the Parliament has repealed the L.A. Act, 1894 and in its place enacted the Act of 2013 which came into force with effect from 01.01.2014 and thus seeking applicability of beneficial provision of Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013.

10. It is contended by the learned counsel for the appellant that in the light of Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013, the entire land acquisition proceedings qua the land of the appellant shall be deemed to have lapsed as admittedly the Award in the present case on hand was rendered by the Land Acquisition Collector on 03.04.2002, i.e. more than 5 years prior to the commencement of the Act of 2013, but physical possession of the disputed land of the appellant has neither been taken as he is still in physical possession by making construction of one room and boundary wall much prior to issuance of the said notifications over his acquired land in dispute and the same is now built up and also within 50 meters from village-Abadi nor compensation amount has been paid to the appellant till date.

11. It is further contended that this Court in the case of Pune Municipal Corporation & Anr v. Harakchand Misrimal Solanki and Ors., (2014) 3 SCC 183 has interpreted the said Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013. It is contended by the learned counsel for the appellant that in the present case on hand, the physical possession of the land of the appellant has not been taken