Sc Clarifies Notice Period For Land Acquisition

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held last week that once a declaration of acquisition of land was quashed, fresh declaration could not be issued beyond the prescribed period mentioned in the Land Acquisition Act.

The Bench, headed by Chief Justice S P Bharucha, was clarifying doubts regarding two sets of judgments delivered by the apex court on the question whether the state government could avail of a fresh period after the original notification was quashed.

In 1995, the court had held in the Oxford English School vs government of Tamil Nadu case that fresh notification could not be issued beyond the prescribed period.

But, in some other judgments, like that of the state of Karnataka vs D C Nanjudaisaiah case (1996), a contrary view was expressed by the Supreme Court itself. Therefore, this question was referred to the larger Bench.

The unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Arijit Passayat supported the Oxford English School decision.

It accepted the petitioner