SC order paves way for faster land acquisition, reduced litigation

NEW DELHI: In a major relief to governments and official agencies, the Supreme Court has cleared the air over validity of land acquisition that was initiated but could not be completed in the stipulated five-year period. The court ruled the process will be deemed lapsed only if the possession of land is not complete and no compensation been paid.

The SC further clarified that delay caused due to an interim order passed by a court has to be excluded from the computation of five years. The ruling will help speed up land acquisition and reduce litigation.

A five-judge Constitution bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, M R Shah and S Ravindra Bhat brought to an end the controversy over the land acquisition law arising from contradictory verdicts of two benches of the apex court on interpretation of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acq