Government of NCT of Delhi Vs K.L Rathi Steels Ltd. & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
In Government of NCT of Delhi vs. K.L. Rathi Steels Ltd. & Ors., the Supreme Court considered whether review petitions filed by land acquisition authorities were maintainable after earlier judgments declaring acquisition proceedings as lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 had attained finality.
The issue arose because several High Court decisions, later affirmed by the Supreme Court, had relied upon the judgment in Pune Municipal Corporation v. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki. Subsequently, Pune Municipal Corporation was doubted in Indore Development Authority v. Shailendra, declared per incuriam by a three-judge Bench, overruled by the Constitution Bench decision in Indore Development Authority v. Manoharlal, and later recalled. Relying on these developments and the observation in paragraph 217 of Shailendra, authorities sought review of final judgments that had declared land acquisitions to have lapsed.
A Division Bench hearing these review petitions delivered a split verdict. One judge held that the review petitions were maintainable in view of the subsequent legal developments and considerations of public interest. The companion judge disagreed, holding that the Explanation to Rule 1 of Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure barred such reviews because the judgments sought to be reviewed were correct according to the law prevailing when they were rendered. The matter was therefore referred to a larger Bench.
