Punjab and Haryana High Court condones 7,486-day delay in land compensation appeal, denies interest for delayed period

The appellants, landowners represented by legal representatives, challenged the award dated 31.08.2005 passed by the Additional District Judge, Gurdaspur, which did not grant them the claimed compensation under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

They filed the appeal after a delay of 7,486 days and sought condonation on the grounds of their poor financial condition and the fact that similarly situated landowners had obtained enhanced compensation in connected proceedings.

The State conceded that the appellants’ claim was covered by this Court’s order dated 02.11.2018 in RFA-1006-2010, but submitted that statutory benefits and interest could not be granted for the period of delay.

1. Whether the delay of 7,486 days in filing the first appeal under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ought to be condoned in the circumstances of the case, particularly where similarly situated landowners had received enhanced compensation?

2. Whether, after condoning the delay and allowing the appeal on merits, the appellants were entitled to statutory benefits and interest for the delayed period?

The Court applied Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963, under which delay may be condoned upon sufficient cause, while recognising that limitation provisions are founded on public policy and cannot be disregarded merely on equitable grounds.

The Court relied on Pathapati Subba Reddy (Died) by LRs v. The Special Deputy Collector , 2024 (12) SCC 336, for the principles that delay condonation is discretionary, merits ordinarily should not be examined at the condonation stage, and similar relief granted to other persons does not by itself justify condonation.

In land-acquisition matters, however, New Okhla Industrial Development Authority v. Rameshwar @ Ramesh Chandra Sharma , 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1599, and Suresh Kumar v. State of Haryana , 2025 SCC OnLine SC 896, establish that enhanced compensation may be granted despite substantial delay, but the acquiring body should not be burdened with statutory benefits or interest for the delayed period.

The Court also relied on Urban Improvement Trust v. Vidhya Devi , 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3725, which favours a liberal, justice-oriented approach in land-acquisition cases involving the constitutional right to property under Article 300-A.

The contrary caution against mechanically condoning inordinate delay, reflected in Shivamma (Dead) v. Karnataka Housing Board , 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1969, was considered but distinguished in light of the special treatment accorded to landowners in acquisition matters.

The Court held that land-acquisition appeals should not be treated on the same footing as ordinary civil disputes because refusal to adjudicate may perpetuate unequal compensation for similarly situated landowners and undermine the constitutional protection of property.

Although the delay was exceptionally long, the appellants’ poor financial circumstances, the comparable relief granted to similarly situated landowners, and the State’s concession that the claim was covered by the earlier judgment justified adopting a liberal approach and condoning the delay.

At the same time, the Court balanced the appellants’ entitlement to parity in compensation against the prejudice and financial burden that would result from imposing interest and statutory benefits for a period attributable to their own delay.

Following New Okhla Industrial Development Authority and Suresh Kumar , the Court therefore limited the relief by excluding interest for 7,486 days and denying statutory benefits for that period.

The appeal under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was allowed in terms of this Court’s order dated 02.11.2018 in RFA-1006-2010, thereby granting the appellants the compensation relief available under that decision.

However, the appellants were expressly denied interest for the delayed period of 7,486 days and statutory benefits.

Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, were disposed of.