Supreme Court Condones Delay in Land Acquisition Appeal, Emphasizing Fair Compensation.
23 April 2025
Civil Appeals >> Civil & Consumer Law
In Suresh Kumar & Another v/s State Of Haryana & Others., the Supreme Court allowed appeals against a High Court order that had refused to condone a significant delay in filing appeals against a 2005 land acquisition compensation award. The land in question was acquired by the State of Haryana in 1996 for development in Sector-2, Bahadurgarh. The Reference Court enhanced the initial compensation in 2005. The appellants claimed they had entrusted the filing of appeals for further enhancement but it was not done. The High Court dismissed the delay condonation application without considering this specific ground, relying on a previous similar order.
The Supreme Court, citing its consistent liberal approach towards condoning delays in land acquisition cases, particularly when substantial justice is at stake, referred to precedents like Collector, Land Acquisition, Anand Nag v. Mst. Katiji and subsequent cases where significant delays were condoned, often with the caveat of denying interest for the delayed period. The Court emphasized that land losers should not be denied fair compensation due to delays, especially when the delay is not attributable to their fault.
Finding the appellant's claim of entrusting the appeal filing to be uncontroverted, the Supreme Court held that the delay should have been condoned. Consequently, it set aside the High Court's order and remanded the matter for a fresh hearing on all aspects except the delay. The appellant, however, was denied interest for the period of delay. The Supreme Court requested the High Court to expedite the matter given the age of the original award.