The Supreme Court of India restored the original compensation and enhanced amount granted to him, holding that an entire land acquisition award cannot be set aside merely because a few beneficiaries were accused of receiving excessive compensation.
The appeal was filed by Niraj Jain, a landowner whose compensation had been cancelled after allegations of inflated payouts surfaced against some other landowners and officials. On January 27, the top court allowed his appeal and ordered full disbursal of dues within three months
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The dispute traces back to land acquired in 2017 for a special railway project in Chhattisgarh. After the initial compensation award was passed in February 2018, some landowners sought enhancement before an arbitrator under the Railways Act.
Later, an inquiry by the district administration alleged that a handful of landowners had received compensation far beyond market value, allegedly in collusion with revenue officials. Criminal cases were registered, bank accounts were frozen, and the Railways moved the High Court seeking to set aside the awards.
A single judge of the High Court went on to cancel not just the questioned awards but the entire compensation exercise, directing fresh calculation and refunds.
Appearing for Jain, senior counsel argued that his client was never named in the inquiry report, never accused of wrongdoing, and never proceeded against by the Railways. Yet, his compensation was cancelled solely because the overall award was struck down.
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The Railways, on the other hand, contended that related appeals were pending and the matter should wait until those were decided.
Justice K. Vinod Chandran, speaking for the bench, made it clear that such a sweeping approach could not stand.
The judges noted that out of nearly 550 landowners, allegations of unjust enrichment were confined to only five individuals. The appellant was neither named in the inquiry nor accused in any FIR.
“The setting aside of an award against specific beneficiaries cannot automatically invalidate the compensation payable to others who are not even alleged to be tainted,” the court observed.
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Importantly, the bench pointed out that the Railways Act does not give the competent authority or the arbitrator any power to review or cancel a valid award once passed.
The court also criticised the High Court for failing to notice that the writ petitions before it were limited to select landowners and could not have been used to nullify compensation across the board.
Allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s orders that had cancelled Jain’s compensation. It restored:
- The original compensation award dated February 12, 2018
- The enhanced amount granted by the arbitrator in June 2019
The court directed authorities to release the full balance amount, along with applicable interest and solatium, within three months.
With that, the appeal was allowed and all pending applications were disposed of, bringing relief to a landowner caught in the fallout of allegations that never concerned him in the first place
Case Title: Niraj Jain v. Competent Authority-cum-Additional Collector, Jagdalpur & Ors.
Case Number: Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 7061 of 2025 (Registered as Civil Appeal No. ___ of 2026)
Court: Supreme Court of India
Date of Judgment: 27 January 2026
Coram: Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran
