Supreme Court rejects condoning delay in land acquisition appeals

The case concerns a challenge by the Rajasthan Housing Board to a High Court order that dismissed its writ petition for being time-barred under Section 74 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The core issue is whether the Supreme Court should follow a previous precedent allowing the condonation of delay beyond the statutory 120-day limit for filing appeals.

Who it concerns: Petitioner: Rajasthan Housing Board; Respondents: M/s Hariyali Rural Ventures Ltd. & Ors.; Bench: Justice Dipankar Datta.

What the court decided

• The Court held that the ratio of the precedent in S.V. Global Mill Limited does not apply to the present facts.
• The Court expressed the opinion that the S.V. Global Mill Limited precedent does not commend acceptance and does not accord with other precedents dealing with similar limitation provisions.
• The Court reasoned that the 2013 Act implicitly excludes the applicability of Section 5 of the Limitation Act, meaning delay beyond the 120-day period cannot be condoned.
• The Court stated that a reference to a larger Bench is not warranted in the present facts and circumstances.

Also in the document

• The Court noted that applying Section 5 of the Limitation Act to the 2013 Act would allow the State/acquiring bodies to seek condonation of inordinate delay, which could prejudice landowners.
• The Court observed that the previous precedent effectively rendered the proviso to Section 74(1) of the 2013 Act otiose by allowing unlimited condonation of delay.