The bench said the State cannot abdicate its constitutional and statutory responsibility of payment of compensation by arguing that its role was limited to initiating acquisition proceedings.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said when acquisition of land for public purpose is undertaken under the power of eminent domain of the government much against the wishes of the landowners, this is coupled with a bounden duty and obligation on part of the government body to ensure that the compensation or awarded amount is paid as declared by the statutory award at the earliest.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the omission or lapse to complete such an exercise before taking possession of the land could be said to be in contravention of the mandate of Section 38(1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The court also said Section 38 of the 2013 Act indicated that the payment of full and final compensation to land owners is a precursor to taking possession of the land sought to be acquired from such persons.
The bench said the State cannot abdicate its constitutional and statutory responsibility of payment of compensation by arguing that its role was limited to initiating acquisition proceedings.
It also said any delay in the payment of compensation to the landowners after taking away ownership of the subject land from them is in contravention to the spirit of the constitutional scheme of Article 300A and the idea of a welfare State.
In its decision on appeal by Ultra-tech Cement Ltd related to payment of supplementary award to landowners for their land in Solan, the bench said, “It is regrettable that the State of Himachal Pradesh, being a welfare state, did not ensure payment of compensation to the Respondent Nos 1-6 before taking possession of their land.”