P&H HC Grants Landowners Compensation Parity After 4,295-Day Delay, But Denies Statutory Benefits And Interest For The Delayed Period

The appellants sought condonation under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, of a 4,295-day delay in filing an appeal against the Additional District Judge, Sonipat’s award dated 1 February 2024.

They attributed the delay to lack of awareness of the case’s status and submitted that similarly situated landowners had obtained enhanced compensation.

The respondents accepted that the compensation claim was covered by an earlier decision of the High Court, but argued that statutory benefits and interest should not be payable for the delayed period.

Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 permits condonation of delay; in land-acquisition matters, the Supreme Court authorities cited by the Court support a liberal, justice-oriented approach so that delay does not, by itself, defeat a landowner’s claim to just compensation (Suresh Kumar v. State of Haryana, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 896; Urban Improvement Trust v. Vidhya Devi, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3725).

However, under New Okhla Industrial Development Authority v. Rameshwar @ Ramesh Chandra Sharma, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1599, while delayed appeals may be entertained and enhanced compensation granted, the acquiring body need not bear statutory benefits and interest for the delayed period.

Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 provides the appellate route from the award; the applicable compensation determination here was governed by the High Court’s order in Kartar Singh.

Applying the liberal approach in the cited Supreme Court decisions, the Court held that the appellants’ delay should not prevent consideration of their land-acquisition claim, notwithstanding its length.

At the same time, consistent with Rameshwar, the Court excluded statutory benefits and interest for the 4,295-day delayed period, addressing the financial burden that would otherwise fall on the acquiring body.

As the respondents could not distinguish Kartar Singh, the Court allowed the appeal on that basis.

The appeal was allowed in terms of the High Court’s order in Kartar Singh; the appellants were expressly denied interest for 4,295 days and statutory benefits.