Land Acquisition Act, 1894 | Section 28A Application Cannot Be Filed Against Appellate Court Order When Reference Under Section 18 Was Initially Rejected: Supreme Court

"The device of an application under Section 28A, from an order in appeal, when the reference is declined by the reference court, is a caussus omissus, ensuring the beneficial legislation not being stultified in the event of a reference under Section 18 being rejected" Supreme Court, in a significant ruling dated September 21, 2026, held that an application for redetermination of compensation under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, cannot be maintained solely on the basis of an appellate court's order when the original reference under Section 18 was rejected in its entirety.

A bench of Justice J. B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran observed that Section 28A is intended to be invoked against awards passed by the Reference Court under Section 18, and it does not contemplate successive causes of action arising from appellate judgments.

The appellant, New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, challenged a High Court order that permitted the respondents to file an application under Section 28A. The respondents' predecessors-in-interest had their lands acquired under a 1977 award, but no reference under Section 18 was sought at that time. Other landowners under the same notification had sought references, which were rejected in 1981, only to be later enhanced by the High Court in a 2022 appeal.

The court was primarily tasked with determining whether a landowner who failed to seek a reference under Section 18 could invoke Section 28A based on an enhancement granted by the High Court in an appellate proceeding. Furthermore, the bench examined whether such appellate orders create a fresh cause of action for the purpose of the three-month limitation period prescribed under the statute.

Court Explains Limitation Under Section 28A

The bench clarified that the limitation period for filing an application under Section 28A commences from the date of the award of the Reference Court, not from the date of an appellate order. Referring to the precedent in Popat Bahiru Govardhane and Others v. Special Land Acquisition Officer, the court reiterated that limitation must be applied with all its rigour, and equitable grounds cannot be used to extend statutory deadlines.

Section 28A Must Be Strictly Interpreted

The court highlighted that Section 28A allows an aggrieved landowner to seek redetermination only if there has been an enhancement by the Reference Court. While acknowledging the ruling in Banwari and Others, which permitted applications in cases where a reference was initially rejected but later enhanced in appeal, the court maintained that this was a narrow exception. The bench stated that the legislature never intended for appellate orders to serve as the primary trigger for such applications.

"There is no question of successive orders in First Appeal, conferring fresh cause of action under Section 28A, since in First Appeal, the High Court being a Court of Record is bound by an order passed at the first instance, by a Coordinate Bench."

Rejection of Successive Applications

The court firmly rejected the doctrine of merger as a basis for filing multiple or successive applications under Section 28A. The judges noted that the scheme of the Act, particularly the provision for a further reference under sub-section (3), indicates that the remedy is tied to the award of the Reference Court. Relying on the authoritative pronouncement in Pradeep Kumari, the court reaffirmed that only one application for redetermination is permitted per applicant.

Concluding the matter, the court set aside the impugned High Court order and rejected the respondents' application under Section 28A. The bench emphasized that the respondent's claim was barred by limitation as it was filed years after the initial relevant order, and reiterated that Section 28A cannot be stretched to include appellate enhancements as a fresh starting point for litigation.

Date of Decision: 21 September 2026