The Supreme Court has held that an application under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, must be based on an award of the Reference Court and that a later High Court order merely following an earlier enhancement does not create a fresh limitation period.
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran delivered the judgment on September 21, 2026, in New Okhla Industrial Development Authority & Anr. v. Rajveer Singh & Ors.
Background
The respondents claimed through predecessors whose land had been acquired under the Land Acquisition Act. An award was passed on February 15, 1977, and the entire compensation was received. The predecessors, however, did not seek a reference under Section 18 of the Act.
Other landowners covered by the same acquisition notification had sought a reference, but the Reference Court rejected it in 1981. The matter later reached the High Court in First Appeal No. 458 of 1982.
The High Court disposed of that appeal on April 18, 2022, relying on an earlier order dated July 8, 2019, which had granted enhanced compensation. The respondents then filed their Section 28A application on May 23, 2022, claiming redetermination of compensation.
The Supreme Court examined the earlier decisions concerning Section 28A, including Pradeep Kumari, Jose Antonio Cruz, Hansoli Devi and Banwari. The Court noted that Section 28A permits certain landowners who did not seek a Section 18 reference to seek redetermination where compensation has been enhanced by the Reference Court in respect of land covered by the same notification.
The Court distinguished the situation in Banwari, where the Section 18 reference had been rejected without enhancement and the first enhancement was subsequently granted by the High Court. In such circumstances, the Court had recognised an entitlement under Section 28A.
However, the present case was different. The High Court's April 18, 2022 order did not itself grant a fresh enhancement. It merely followed the earlier High Court decision dated July 8, 2019.
The Court observed:
"The date of first enhancement by the High Court is on 08.07.2019, and the three-month limitation expires on 07.10.2019. There is no fresh limitation arising on 18.04.2022, when Annexure P1 was passed, merely following the earlier appellate order."
The Bench further clarified that Section 28A can be invoked only on the basis of an award of the Reference Court. If an appeal against that award is pending before the High Court, the Collector may keep the Section 28A application in abeyance so that any subsequent enhancement can also be reflected appropriately.
The Court also rejected the argument that successive High Court appellate orders could repeatedly create fresh causes of action under Section 28A.
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, set aside the impugned order and rejected the respondents' application under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Any pending applications were also rejected.
Case Details
- Case Title: New Okhla Industrial Development Authority & Anr. v. Rajveer Singh & Ors.
- Case Number: Civil Appeal No. 2026, arising out of SLP (C) No. 18801 of 2025
- Judge: Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran
- Decision Date: September 21, 2026
