Landowners under preliminary acquisition notifications are entitled to government-order consent-award benefits.

The petitioners’ lands were included in a preliminary land-acquisition notification dated 27 June 2022 for the Upper Krishna Project.

They complained that no further action had been taken and sought a direction to pass an award, including compensation for the period from taking possession until payment; alternatively, they sought acquisition in accordance with law.

They stated that they were willing to accept a consent award under the applicable Government Order.

The petitioners relied on an earlier decision concerning similarly situated landowners, and the State submitted that a final notification remained to be issued before an award could be made.

Whether the petitioners were entitled to the benefit of the Government Order dated 9 October 2025 on the basis of the earlier decisions concerning similarly situated landowners.

Whether, where only a preliminary notification had been issued, the State should be directed to issue a final notification and thereafter proceed to make an award or consent award.

The petition was brought under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, which empower the High Court to issue appropriate writs and directions.

The Court applied the Government Order dated 9 October 2025 and followed its earlier decisions in W.P. No. 100331 of 2024 and W.P. No. 106191 of 2024, as well as its decision in W.P. No. 107456 of 2026.

Those decisions provided for eligible landowners to receive the Government Order’s benefits through an award or consent award, subject to the acquisition process and applicable law.

The Court also noted that the acquisition process in the present case had not progressed beyond the preliminary notification; a final notification was therefore required before the award or consent award could be made.

The Court accepted that the petitioners were entitled to treatment consistent with the earlier decisions and that the State did not dispute the legal position supporting the claimed benefit.

However, because only a preliminary notification had been issued, the Court recognised that the State first had to issue a final notification before the SLAO could proceed to make an award or consent award.

It accordingly directed the authorities to extend the Government Order’s benefits in accordance with the cited decisions and to complete the award process within a specified period.

The petitioners were granted the benefits of the Government Order dated 9 October 2025, in terms of the cited decisions, if those benefits had not already been granted.

They were directed to appear before the concerned SLAO on 26 October 2026 at 11:00 a.m.; the SLAO was directed to act in accordance with the Government Order and disburse the award or consent-award amount as expeditiously as possible, and within one year from the petitioners’ first appearance.

If compliance could not be completed within that period, the State could seek an extension for valid reasons; any variance from the directions would be viewed seriously.