Petition for Factor-2 compensation and statutory interest dismissed as infructuous after amended awards were passed.

The petitioner’s land bearing Revenue Survey No. 416/2, admeasuring 2,376 sq. m. at Village Rampura, Taluka Detroj, District Ahmedabad, was acquired for construction of the Goraiya Branch Canal of the Narmada Project.

An award dated 22 January 2016 was passed in Case No. 5 of 2013 under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (“2013 Act”).

The petitioner alleged that possession had been taken in 2001 without payment of compensation and sought recalculation of compensation by applying Factor-2 under Section 26(2), along with statutory interest under Section 80.

The acquiring authority produced a possession certificate recording that possession was taken on 1 February 2011.

It further stated that compensation could not initially be disbursed because of an inter se ownership dispute among the landholders; the dispute was resolved through consent terms dated 19 July 2025, and compensation was disbursed on 8 October 2025.

During the pendency of the writ petition, an amended award dated 22 June 2026 granted Factor-2 benefits, and a further amended award dated 10 August 2026 granted statutory interest under Section 80 calculated from 1 February 2011.

Whether the petitioner was entitled to modification of the award dated 22 January 2016 by granting the Factor-2 benefit under Section 26(2) and the First Schedule to the 2013 Act.

Whether the petitioner was entitled to statutory interest under Section 80 of the 2013 Act from the date of possession until payment of compensation.

Whether any cause of action survived after the authorities passed amended awards granting both the reliefs sought by the petitioner.

The Court applied Section 26(2) read with the First Schedule of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, concerning the applicable multiplication factor for determining market value, and Section 80 of the 2013 Act, concerning statutory interest on compensation payable after possession.

The Court also applied the principle that a writ petition becomes infructuous where the relief claimed has already been granted by the competent authority during its pendency.

The Court considered the evidentiary significance of the acquiring body’s possession certificate in determining the date from which statutory interest was payable.

The petitioner’s assertion that possession had been taken in 2001 was unsupported by documentary evidence and was inconsistent with the subsequent pleadings, while the acquiring authority relied on a possession certificate recording 1 February 2011 as the date of possession.

The Court also noted the petitioner’s unexplained delay in challenging the 2016 award and the absence of any material showing that the acquisition or compensation determination had previously been disputed.

Nevertheless, during the proceedings, the authorities granted Factor-2 benefits through the amended award dated 22 June 2026 and awarded statutory interest under Section 80 from 1 February 2011 through the amended award dated 10 August 2026.

Since both substantive reliefs sought in the petition had thereby been granted, no surviving controversy remained for adjudication.

Consequently, no further cause of action survived, and the petition was dismissed as infructuous.

The Court made no order as to costs.