Can’t deny right to compensation due to delay in claiming land acquisition benefits: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that landowners are entitled to compensation for land taken for public use even if there is a delay on their part in asserting their rights. The court also directed the State of Haryana and its departments to legally acquire land and compensate the petitioners under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act.

The ruling by the Division Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri came on a petition filed by landowners for the State of Haryana and its departments to acquire their land legally and compensate them in accordance with the Act.

The Bench was told that the land, situated in Rapri village of Yamuna Nagar district, had been in possession of the State and others respondents for over 45 years and a road had been constructed on it without proper acquisition or compensation.

The petitioners contended that a demarcation report confirmed encroachment by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Forest Department. The government failed to initiate acquisition or compensation proceedings despite repeated representations.

Appearing before the Bench, the State counsel argued that the road had been built 45 years ago, and neither the petitioners nor their predecessors had objected at the time. The State relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling to claim the petition was barred due to delay and laches.

Referring to a plethora of Supreme Court precedents dealing with land acquisition without compensation, the Bench asserted that delay was not an absolute bar when landowners were unaware of the encroachment or if the delay was justified. The delay was excusable since the petitioners had purchased the land in 2019, discovered the encroachment in 2022, and promptly filed their petition.

The court reaffirmed that the right to property was a constitutional and human right under Article 300A. The government could not forcibly take land for public use without following the due legal process of acquisition. Besides this, the State’s failure to compensate the petitioners violated their fundamental rights.

The court also made it clear that the government was obligated to compensate landowners before utilising their property for public purposes. Since the respondents had used the land for a road without legal acquisition, they were directed to immediately initiate acquisition proceedings under the Act.

Allowing the petitions, the Bench asserted that the respondents must legally acquire the land, determine and pay compensation to the petitioners based on fair market value and other statutory benefits under the Act.

The judgment is significant as it reinforces landowners’ right to fair compensation irrespective of delay in raising claims. The Bench has also clarified that delay alone did not bar compensation, if the claim was justified.