Supreme Court Rules Land Acquisition Award Cannot Be Reviewed After Finalization

The case of Naresh Kumar & Ors. v. Government of NCT of Delhi dealt with a significant legal question concerning the reviewability of an award granted under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The Supreme Court ruled that once an award is finalized under Section 11 of the Act, it cannot be reviewed or altered except for minor clerical or arithmetical corrections under Section 13A.

Background of the Case

The appellants’ land was acquired by the Government of NCT of Delhi through a notification dated May 23, 2002, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, followed by a declaration under Section 6 on December 17, 2002. The Land Acquisition Collector passed an award on October 1, 2003, granting compensation of Rs. 1,97,08,397. A part of this amount (Rs. 1,87,10,194) was paid to the appellants, while Rs. 9,98,203 remained outstanding.

Subsequently, on July 14, 2004, the Land Acquisition Collector issued a review award reducing the compensation by Rs. 49,39,195, stating that an amount had been wrongly awarded for alleged illegal structures on the acquired land. The appellants were unaware of this review award until they obtained information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in December 2007. Additionally, a supplementary award of Rs. 45,36,781 was passed on October 27, 2004, for compensation regarding trees on the land.

Challenging the review award and seeking the release of compensation, the appellants filed writ petitions in the Delhi High Court, which dismissed their case. This led them to appeal before the Supreme Court.

Arguments by the Appellants

The appellants contended that:

• Once an award is passed under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, it attains finality under Section 12 and cannot be reviewed.
• Section 13A allows only for the correction of clerical or arithmetical mistakes within six months of the award, not for substantive changes.
• The review award dated July 14, 2004, was passed beyond the permissible period and was therefore illegal.
• The supplementary award for tree compensation was a valid entitlement, which the authorities were wrongfully withholding.

Arguments by the Respondents

The Government of NCT of Delhi argued that:

• The Land Acquisition Collector had the authority to correct any mistakes in the award.
• The compensation for illegal structures should not have been included in the original award.
• The correction was made based on the instructions of the Secretary, Land and Building, and was approved by the Lieutenant Governor.

Supreme Court’s Observations

The Supreme Court, comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Vineet Saran, and S. Ravindra Bhat, ruled that the review award was illegal and unsustainable. The Court observed:

“There is no provision under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for the review of an award once passed under Section 11 of the Act. The only provision for corrections is under Section 13A, which is limited to clerical or arithmetical mistakes and must be exercised within six months.”

The Court further stated:

“A mistake that involves the determination of legal rights and requires evidence cannot be considered a clerical or arithmetical mistake. The deduction of compensation for structures on the land amounted to a review, which is not permissible under the Act.”

Judgment and Final Order

The Supreme Court held that:

• The review award dated July 14, 2004, was quashed.
• The original award dated October 1, 2003, and the supplementary award dated October 27, 2004, were upheld.
• The appellants were entitled to the full compensation as per the original award.

Conclusion

This judgment reaffirms that land acquisition awards cannot be arbitrarily reviewed after finalization. The ruling protects landowners from unjust reductions in compensation and ensures transparency in land acquisition proceedings.

Petitioner Name: Naresh Kumar & Ors..
Respondent Name: Government of NCT of Delhi.
Judgment By: Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Vineet Saran, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat.
Place Of Incident: Delhi.
Judgment Date: 17-10-2019.

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