KIADB awards passed after April 5, 2022 must follow 2013 land compensation law, Karnataka High Court rules

The petitioners’ lands in Nandur-K village were acquired by KIADB.

Preliminary notifications were issued on 9 December 2020 and final notifications on 23 November 2022.

KIADB passed general awards on 8 August 2025 under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

The petitioners challenged those awards, contending that the substituted Section 30 of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act, 1966 (KIAD Act) required compensation to be determined under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act).

The respondents argued that the applicable law should be determined by the date of the preliminary notification.

1. Whether KIADB could pass the awards under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 when the awards were made after the substitution of Section 30 of the KIAD Act.

2. Whether the impugned awards should be set aside and fresh awards made under the 2013 Act.

Section 30 of the KIAD Act, as substituted by Karnataka Act No. 20 of 2020 with effect from 5 April 2022, makes specified provisions of the 2013 Act—including provisions concerning compensation and related matters—applicable to acquisitions under the KIAD Act.

In Sri Rajashekhar v. State of Karnataka, W.P. No. 203892 of 2026, decided 24 September 2026, the Court held that where an award is passed after the substituted Section 30 took effect, the award must be made under the 2013 Act; an award under the 1894 Act cannot be sustained.

The Court also relied on the same approach stated in Smt. Anitha, as quoted in Sri Rajashekhar.

The Court treated the date of the award—not the earlier preliminary notification—as decisive for determining the governing compensation regime.

Although the preliminary and final notifications pre-dated the substituted Section 30’s effective date, the awards were made on 8 August 2025, after that provision had taken effect.

Applying Sri Rajashekhar, the Court concluded that KIADB could not then award compensation under the 1894 Act and was required to make fresh awards under the 2013 Act.

It directed the Land Acquisition Officer, KIADB, to pass fresh awards for the subject lands in accordance with the 2013 Act within three months of receiving a certified copy of the order.

Any amount already deposited or released to the landowners is to be adjusted against the fresh awards.

No order was made as to costs.