Pay current market rate if land compensation delayed: Supreme Court | India News

On Thursday, the Supreme Court used its exclusive powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to rule that landowners are entitled to the current market value of their plots if payment of compensation for their land acquired by a government is delayed for a long time.
The order, which will provide relief and adequate compensation to many farmers and others across the country, was prompted by a petition against the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, which in 2003 notified the acquisition of thousands of acres of land for build the Bengaluru-Mysuru infrastructure. Corridor project.
Although parcels of land were expropriated, no compensation was issued to the owners. It took contempt of court procedure for the land acquisition officer to issue a compensation award in 2019. However, he based the compensation on the rates in effect in 2003.
Ruling that the value of land should be calculated from 2019, Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said: “The right to property ceased to be a fundamental right by the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978. Without However, it remains a human right in a welfare state and a constitutional right under Article 300A of the Constitution.”

Payment using 2003 land tax would be a travesty of justice, says SC
Justice Gavai said the owners have been deprived of their legitimate rights for almost 22 years and if the market value of the land is calculated from 2003, they would lose considerably. “It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the determination of award and disbursement of compensation in case of land acquisition be done promptly,” he said.
In 2019, landowners protested when the then land acquisition officer based compensation on rates prevailing in 2003, but lost their challenge before a single judge of the Karnataka HC. They appealed the adverse order, but a division bench ruled against them.
Setting aside the simultaneous rulings of the single judge and the HC division bench and holding the Karnataka government and the KIADB solely responsible for the non-payment of compensation so far, the SC bench said: “We consider it a case appropriate in which this court should direct the change of the date for the determination of the market value of the land in question of the appellants.”
Gavai said, “If the compensation to be given at market value from the year 2003 is allowed, it would amount to allowing a travesty of justice and making a mockery of the constitutional provisions of Article 300A.”
In the interest of justice, the court directed the land acquisition officer to calculate the market value of the acquired land on April 22, 2019. It allowed the landowners to challenge the allotment as per law, if they so desired.