Bombay HC Orders Fresh Compensation For Kurla Land

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to reassess compensation for a Kurla landowner whose land was acquired for the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road project.

The court's decision came after it held that authorities could not legally correct a land acquisition award 31 years after it was passed to include the owners' names.

A Bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Rajesh Patil ruled that the 1986 land acquisition award, a 2017 corrigendum to that award, and a subsequent notice issued to the landowners were all illegal.

The petitioners, legal heirs of the original owner Ahmad Izzat Mohammed Hasham Dada, argued that although their land was acquired, they were never issued statutory notices nor included in the acquisition award passed on September 23, 1986.

Instead, notices were issued to unrelated persons, and they were neither heard nor paid compensation. Despite possessing the correct revenue records, officials failed to notify the actual landowners or offer them compensation.

The state later admitted that the omission was a mistake. In 2017, officials issued a corrigendum replacing the names in the award with those of the petitioners.

The landowners challenged this correction, arguing that such a change was not permitted after three decades. The Bench agreed, observing that the authorities had failed to follow the mandatory legal procedure while acquiring the land.

The court directed the authorities to issue a fresh award under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, after determining the current market value of the land within three months.

The court also criticised the attempt to cure a fundamental defect in the acquisition process by issuing a corrigendum after 31 years. It held that only clerical or arithmetic errors can be corrected under the law and not substantive defects such as changing the identity of the landowners.

In 2011, pursuant to an earlier order, the state had deposited Rs 1,42,038 as compensation and Rs 1,30,432 as interest, taking the total deposited amount to Rs 2,72,470. However, it held that this did not cure the illegality in the acquisition process.

Holding that the acquisition process violated the petitioners' constitutional right to property under Article 300A, the Bench said illegal actions by the authorities could not be recognised merely because possession of the land had already been taken.

The court's decision is a significant victory for the landowners, who have been fighting for justice for over 15 years. The case highlights the importance of following proper procedures in land acquisition and the need for authorities to respect the rights of landowners.

The decision is also likely to have implications for other land acquisition cases in the state, where similar irregularities may have occurred.

In conclusion, the Bombay High Court's decision to order fresh compensation for the Kurla landowner is a welcome move that upholds the rule of law and protects the rights of landowners. It is a reminder that authorities must follow proper procedures and respect the rights of citizens, even if it takes decades to correct past mistakes.