Case Note & Summary
The appellants, Bernard Francis Joseph Vaz and others, purchased residential sites in Gottigere Village, Bengaluru between 1995 and 1997. On 3rd April 1997, a Framework Agreement was executed between the Government of Karnataka and Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Ltd. (NICE) for the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Project, requiring acquisition of about 20,193 acres of land. On 29th January 2003, a preliminary notification was issued under Section 28(1) of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1966 (KIAD Act) for acquiring the appellants' lands. After objections, a final notification was issued on 5th July 2003, and possession was taken on 22nd November 2005 and handed over to NICE. However, no award was passed for compensation until 22nd April 2019, when the Special Land Acquisition Officer passed an award determining compensation based on guideline rates of 2011, shifting the date of preliminary notification from 2003 to 2011. The project proponents challenged this award, and the landowners also filed a writ petition seeking compensation based on current market value. The learned Single Judge quashed the award and directed fresh awards within three months, dismissing the landowners' petition as not surviving. The Division Bench dismissed the landowners' appeal as premature. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that due to the inordinate delay of over 16 years in passing the award, the date for determining market value should be shifted to the date of the award (22nd April 2019) to ensure just compensation. The Court directed the authorities to pass fresh awards determining compensation as on the date of the award, with interest as per law, and apportioned any additional liability between the State Government and KIADB, not the project proponents. The Court rejected the claim for compensation under the 2013 LA Act, as the KIAD Act incorporates the 1894 LA Act.
Headnote
A) Land Acquisition - Compensation - Shifting of Date for Market Value - Inordinate Delay - Section 28, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1966 - Where there is an inordinate delay in passing the award after taking possession, the court may direct that compensation be determined on the basis of market value as on the date of the award, not the preliminary notification, to ensure just and fair compensation. Held that the High Court erred in dismissing the appeal as premature and that the appellants are entitled to compensation as on the date of the award (Paras 7-12). B) Land Acquisition - Applicability of 2013 LA Act - Section 30, KIAD Act, 1966 - The provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 apply mutatis mutandis for determination of compensation under the KIAD Act. The 2013 LA Act is not applicable to acquisitions under the KIAD Act. Held that the appellants' claim for compensation under the 2013 LA Act is not maintainable (Para 13).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the date for determining the market value of acquired land should be shifted from the date of preliminary notification to the date of award due to inordinate delay in passing the award, and whether compensation should be determined under the 2013 LA Act.
Final Decision
Appeal allowed. Impugned judgment and order dated 22nd November 2022 of the Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka and the judgment and order dated 18th April 2022 of the learned Single Judge are set aside. The authorities are directed to pass fresh awards determining compensation as on the date of the award (22nd April 2019) with interest as per law, within three months. Any additional liability due to shifting of date shall be borne by the State Government and/or KIADB, not the project proponents.
Law Points
- Compensation for land acquisition must be determined as on date of award when there is inordinate delay not attributable to landowner
- Section 28 of Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act
- 1966
- Section 30 of KIAD Act
- Land Acquisition Act
- 1894
- Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition
- Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act
- 2013
