M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD.versusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

                        (2014] 13 S.C.R. 98


A              M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD.
                                 v.
                     UNION OF.INDIA & ORS.
                          (I.A. 3 of2014)
B
                                 h
                   (Civil Appeal No.4284 of 2011)
                       NOVEMBER 27, 2014
C        [V. GOPALA GOWDA AND C. NAGAPPAN, JJ.]
        Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
  Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 -
  s. 24(2) - Land acquisition - Issuance of acquisition
  Notification for different parcels of land including land and
0
  building owned by the appellant - Subsequently, issuance
  of notices regarding the said land by Assistant Collector to
  the appellant - Writ petition challenging acquisition
  Notifications by the appellant - Dismissed on 16.05.2008,
E holding that the acquisition of land by NCT Delhi was legal
  and valid - On appeal, case of the appellant that actual
  physical possession of the land not taken by Land Acquisition
  Collector even after 5 years being elapsed after the award
  nor compensation awarded, as such acquisition proceedings
F lapsed - Held: Plea of taking over possession of land of the
  appellant either on 27.12.2013 as per the original record or
  on 31.12.2013 as per document, cannot be accepted -
  Respondents misrepresented certain relevant facts by filing
  affidavit with an oblique motive to deny the valuable statutory
G right accrued in favour of appellant u/s. 24(2), which conduct
  is deprecated -Acquisition proceedings of appellant's land
  have lapsed, thus, acquisition proceeding notifications
  quashed.

H
                                 98
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                99


     Allowing the application, the Court                       A
      HELD: 1.1 The plea of taking over possession of
land of the appellant either on 27 .12.2013 as per the
original record or on 31.12.2013 as per document
Annexure R1, cannot be accepted. The respondents
                                                            8
misrepresented certain relevaot facts to this Court by
filing the affidavit with an oblique motive to deny the
valuable statutory right accrued in favour of the appellant
under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation c
and Resettlement Act, 2013. Hence, the conduct of
respondent No. 4 and officials of respondent No.3 in
misrepre_senting facts is deprecated. [Para 15][114-D-H]
      1.2 The document Annexure R·1 to the response
affidavit was falsely created by respondent Nos. 3 and 4       D
with a malafide intention not only to defeat the statutory
right of the appellant-land owner accrued in its favour
under the provision of Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013,
but it is a clear case of misrepresentation of facts to this
Court with an oblique motive to. deprive the valuable          E
constitutional right of the appellant to the land involved
in these proceedings. This conduct of the ADM/Land
Acquisition Collector is highly objectionable and
reprehensible as his action in creating false official         F
documents to deny the legitimate right accrued in favour
of the appellant, which conduct of him amounts to
breach of trust reposed with him by the public to
discharge his public functions in the larger Interest of
public. The public officers are required to maintain the       G
public record honestly, truly and correctly, the Additional
District Magistrate cadre indulging in such unlawful acts
will discredit the credibility of the public office from
maintaining trust and confidence in the public office
                                                               H




                                                        ....
100 .     SUPREME COURT REPORTS               (2014] 13S.C.R.


A which is most important and necessary for the good
  administration of the second respondent. [Para 16)
  [114-F-H; 115-A·C]
        1.3 The plea of the respondents that as per memo
  of possession dated 31.12.2013 the possession of the
8
  said land of the appellant was taken and handed over to
  the ODA-respondent no.4 on the same day Is not
  accepted as it is not done in fact and could not have
  been done in view of the interim order and also the same
c was not been done in the presence of independent
  witnesses as required in law. Further, the legal principle
  as to how taken over physical possession of the
  acquired land means the actual taking of possession of
  it from the land owners/interested persons. [Paras 17,
D 18][116-C-D; 117-B]
           1.4 The plea taken regarding contravention of
     Sections 3 and 4 for transfer of the land in question by
     the appellant during the pendency of the proceedings
     as it was acquired by the NCT on behalf of the Central
 E   Government by placing reliance on Article 239AA of the
     Constitution has no application to the fact situation. It
     was contended that the land and home subject-matters
     that are in Delhi are still with the Central Government and
 F   therefore, acquisition of land by NCT is the acquisition
     made by it on behalf of the Central Government cannot
     be accepted for the reason that the acquisition
     notification available in the original record would clearly
     show that the land is acquired by the NCT, Delhi and not
 G   on behalf of the Central Government. Further, even
     assuming that the Act of 1972 is applicable, it has been
     specifically stated that the competent authority gave
     permission to the appellants to transfer the land in favour
     of subsidiary company of the appellant. Therefore, the
 H   provisions of Sections 3, 4, and 9 have no application.
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                101


The acquisition proceedings in respect of the appellant's      A
land have lapsed. Thus, the acquisition proceeding
notifications in respect of the appellant's land is quashed.
[Paras 20·22](118-E-H; 119-A-C; E-F]
     Pune Municipal Corporation and Anr. v.
                                                               B
     Harakchand Misirimal Solanki & Ors. 2014 (1)
     SCR 783 : (2014) 3 sec 183; Union of India &
     others v. Shiv Raj & others (2014) 6 SCC 564;
     Bimla Devi & Others v. State of Haryana & Others
     (2014) 6 SCC 583; Bharat Kumar v. State of                c
     Haryana & Another (2014) 6 SCC 586; Sree
     Balaji Nagar Residential Association v. State of
     Tamil Nadu & others 2014 (10) SCALE 388;
     Prahlad Singh & Ors. v. U.0.1 & Ors. 2011 (5) SCR
     1002 : (2011) 5 SCC 386; Raghbir Singh                    D
     Sehrawat v. State of Haryana and Ors. 2011 (14)
     SCR 1113 : (2012)1 SCC 792; Satendra Prasad
     Jain v. State of UP 1993 (2) Suppl. SCR 336:
     (1993) 4 SCC 369; Sanjeevanagar Medical and
     Health Emloyees' Co-operative Housing Society             E
     v. Mohd. Abdul Wahab and Ors. 1996 (2) SCR
     308: (1996) 3 SCC 600; The Punjab Produce
     and Trading Co. Ltd. v. CIT, West Bengai,
     Calcutta (1971) 2 SCC 540; Sita Ram Bhandar
     Society, New Delhi v. Lieutenant Governor,                 F
     Government Of NCT, Delhi And Others 2009 (14)
      SCR 507 : (2009) 10 SCC 501 - referred to.
                     Case law Reference:
      2014 (1) SCR 783           · referred to   Para 6        .G
      (2014) 6 sec 564             referred to   Para 6
      (2014) 6 sec 583             referred to   Para 6
      (2014) 6 sec 586             referred to   Para 6
                                                                H
102         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A          2014 (10) SCALE 388          referred to   Para 6
           2011 (5) SCR 1002            referred to Para 9
           2011 (14) SCR 1113           referred to Para 9
           1993(2) Suppl. SCR 336       referred to Para 11
B
           1996 (2) SCR 308             referred to Para 11
           (1971) 2 sec 540             referred to Para 12
           2009 (14) SCR 507            referred to Para 14
c           CIVILAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: I.A. No. 3 of2014
      in Civil Appeal No. 4284 of 2011.
           From the Judgment and Order dated 16.05.2008 of the
      High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in W.P. (C) No. 3695of1999.
D          Chandra Uday Singh, Sr. Adv., Siddhartha Dave,
      Ms. Jemtiben Ao, Senthil Jagadeesan for the Appellant.
         R. S. Suri, Sr. Adv., Kiran Bhardwaj, Ms. Charul S.,
  Ms. Sushma Suri, Ms. Rachna Srivastava, Utkarsh Sharma,
E Vishnu 8. Saharya (For M/s. Saharya & Co.), Mrs. Anil Katiyar
  for the Respondents.
           The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
        V. GOPALAGOWDA, J.1. This I.A. No.3 of2014 in Civil
  Appeal No. 4284 of 2011 is filed by the appellant seeking for
F direction and appropriate orders for disposal of this appeal in
  terms of Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and
  Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
  Resettlement Act, 2013 (in short 'the Act of 2013'). The
G appellant-land owner has come to this Court questioning the
  correctness of the judgment and order dated 16.05.2008
  passed by the High Court of Delhi in W.P.(C)No. 3695of1999,
  inter alia, urging various facts and legal contentions.

H
     M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                     103
                [V. GOPALAGOWDA, J.]

          2. Brieffacts of the case are stated hereunder:               A
            The appellant is the lawful owner of the land comprised
     in Khasra Nos. 750 Min (1-2 %) and 751 Min (0-18) situated in
.·' the revenue estate of Village Malikpur, Kohi alias Rangpuri,
     Tehsil Mehrauli in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (for
                                                                          8
     short 'NCT, Delhi'). The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)
     vide its sanction bearing No. S.N.406/B/HQ/17/148/AE (B)HQ
     Ill dated 12.07.1990 gave sanction for constructing the
     farmhouse from common land: On 17.12.1993, the Completion
     Certificate with regard to the farm house on the land in question c
     was issued to the appellant by the MCD. On 27.06.1996, the
   · Government of National Capital Territory issued Notification
      No.F.9 (12)/95/L&B/LA/8474 dated 01.06.1995 under Section
     4 .of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short 'the· repealed L.A.
     Act') for the acquisition of the different parcels of land including D
      an area measuring 369 bighas and 1 biswa situated in the
      revenue estate of village Malikpur Kohi alias Rangpuri in the
      NCT, Delhi. The above said notification issued for acquisition
      of the land covered the land and building owned by the
      appellant bearing Khasra No. 750 for 3 bighas and Khasra E
      No. 751 for 3.12 bighas. The public purpose mentioned in the
      said acquisition notification was for development of Vasant
      Kunj Phase IV.          '
                         .       .
          3. On 24th June, 1997, a declaration under Section 6(1) F
    of the repealed L.A. Act was issued by the NCT, Delhi in respect
    of the land sought to be acquired including the land owned by
    the appellant. On 9th June, 1999, notices under Sections 9
    and 10 of the repealed L.A. Act with regard to the land in
    question were issued by the Land Acquisition Collector to the G
    appellant. On 15th June, 1999, the appellant filed a writ petition
    (c) No. 3695 of 1999 before the High Court of Delhi,
    questioning the legality of the aforesaid acquisition notifications
    published under Sections'4 and 6 of the repealed L.A. Act
                                                                        H
104         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A urging various grounds. Other similarly placed land holders
  also challenged the said two notifications before the High Court.
  The wrif petitions were heard together by the High Court and
  passed its judgment and order dated 16.05.2008 by
  dismissing the writ petitions holding that the acquisition of land
B by the NCT, Delhi is legal and valid and did not suffer from any
  legal infirmities. Hence, this appeal.
            4. It is the case of the appellant that throughout the
      proceedings before the High Court as well as this Court, the
c     appellant has been in continuous physical possession of the
      land involved in this appeal as it has been protected by various
      orders of "status quo" by the High Court as well as this Court
      with respect to the possession of the land in question.
          5. Mr. Chandra Uday Singh, the learned senior counsel
D appearing on behalf of the appellant placed strong reliance
   upon Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013 to substantiate the plea
   that actual physical possession of land has not been taken by
   the Land Acquisition Collector even after 5 years being elapsed
 · after the award was passed as on the date of the Act of 2013
E which came into force with effect from 01.01.2014. The
   aforesaid provision is extracted hereunder:-·
           "24(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section
           (1 ), in case of land acquisition proceedings initiated
F          under the LAAct, where an Award under the said Section
           11 has been made five years or more prior to the
           commencement of this Act but the physical possession
           of the land has not been taken or the compensation has
           not been paid the said proceedings shall be deemed to
G          have lapsed and the appropriate government, if it so
           chooses, shall initiate the proceedings of such land
           acquisition afresh in accordance with the provisions of
           this Act.

H
    M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                 105
               [V. GOPALAGOWDA, J.]

       Provided that whether an award has been made and A
       compensation in respect of a majority of land holdings
       has not been deposited in the account of the
       beneficiaries specified in the notifications for acquisition
       under Section 4 of the said land acquisition and shall be
       entitled to compensation in accordance with the B
       provisions of this Act."
      6. Having regard to the facts narrated above that neither
physical possession of the land nor compensation awarded
was paid to the appellant, it is contended that the acquisition c
proceedings of the land of the appellant are lapsed. In support
of the aforesaid submission he has placed reliance upon the
decisions of this Court in the cases of Pune Municipal
Corporation and Anr. Vs. Harakchand Misirimal Solanki
& Ors.1, Union of India & others v. Shiv Raj & others2, o
Bimla Devi & Others v. State of Haryana & Others 3, Bharat
Kumar v. State of Haryana & Another4 and Sree Balaji
Nagar Residential Association v. State of Tamil Nadu &
others5 • Therefore, the learned senior counsel has requested
for grant of relief as prayed for in this application.          E
     7. The above said provision of the Act of 2013 quoted
above has been interpreted by the three Judge Bench of this
Court in the case of Pune Municipal Corporation (supra),
the relevant paras 20 and 21 from the case are extracted             F
hereunder:-
       "20 ...... .it is clear that the award pertaining to the subject
       land has been made by the Special Land Acquisition
       Officer more than five years prior to the commencement
       of the 2013 Act. It is also admitted position that G
1
  (2014) 3 sec 183
2 (2014) 6 sec 564
, (2014) 6 sec 583
• (2014) 6 sec 586
5 2014 (10) SCALE 388
                                                                     H
106       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   (2014] 13 S.C.R.


A         compensation so awarded has neither been paid to the
          landowners/persons interested nor deposited in the court.
          The deposit of compensation amount in the Government
          treasury is of no avail and cannot be held to be equivalent
          to compensation paid to the landowners/persons
B        ·interested. We have, therefore, no hesitation in holding
          that the subject land acquisition proceedings shall be
          deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013
          Act.

c        21. The argument on behalf of the Corporation that the
         subject land acquisition proceedings have been
         concluded in all respects under the 1894 Act and that
         they are not affected at all in view of Section 114(2) of
         the 2013 Act, has no merit at all, and is noted to be
D        rejected. Section 114(1) of the 2013Act repeals the 1894
         Act. Sub-section (2) of Section 114, however, makes
         Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 applicable
         with regard to the effect of repeal but this is subject to
         the provisions in the 2013Act. Under Section 24(2) land
E        acquisition proceedings initiated under the 1894Act, by
         legal fiction, are deemed to have lapsed where award
         has been made five years or more prior to the
         commencement of the 2013Act and possession of the
         land is not taken or compensation has not been paid.
F        The legal fiction under Section 24(2) comes into operation
         as soon as conditions stated therein are satisfied. The
         applicability of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act being
         subject to Section 24(2), there is no merit in the contention
         of the Corporation."
G
        8. Further, reliance was also placed on the decision of
  this Court in Sree Balaji Nagar Residential Association
  (supra), wherein it waia opined that Section 24(2) of the Act of
  2013 does not exclude any period during which the land
H acquisition proceedings might have remained stayed on
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                        107
             [V. GOPALA GOWDA, J.]

account of stay or injunction or "status quo" order regarding A
possession of the land granted by any court. It was conclusively
held that the Legislature has consciously omitted to extend
the period of five years indicated in Section 24(2) of the Act of
2013, even ifthe proceedings had been delayed on account
of an order of stay or injunction granted by a court of law or for B
any reason.
      9. It was further contended that the phrase used under
Section 24(2) is 'physical possession' which means actual
taking over possession from the appellant-land owner by the            c
Land Acquisition Collector. In support of this contention he has
also placed reliance upon two judgments of this Court in
Prahlad Singh & Ors. v. U.0.1 & Ors 6 case and
Raghbir Singh Sehrawat v. State of Haryana and Ors. 7•
      10. On the other hand, Ms. Rachna Srivastava, the D
learned counsel on behalf of respondent Nos. 2 & 3 contended
that the Act of 2013 is prospective in operation by virtue of
Section 24 read with Section .114 of the Act of 2013. As
provided under Section 24, the effect of Section 6 of the
General Clauses Act, 1897 the action taken. by respondent E
Nos. 2-4 has been saved. She submits that by reading the
above two Sections of the Act, it is clear that Legislature wanted
to protect and save the acquisition proceedings initiated under
the repealed L.A. Act, particularly where possession of the· F
acquired land has been taken. It is submitted that the intention
of the Legislature in providing Section 24(2) of Act of 2013
was never to destroy the entire acquisition· proceedings in
acquiring the land for the public purpose under ttie repealed
LA.Act, 1894.                                                      G
      11. It is further contended that it is a well settled position
of law that the proceedings initiated and culminated under the

 s (2011) 5 sec 386
 1
   (2012) 1 sec 792                                                     H
108          SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A repealed Act of 1894 are not to be disturbed by interpreting
   the provisions of Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013 to declare
   the acquisition proceeding of land as lapsed on account of
   not taking physical possession of the land after 5 year period
   or not paying compensation from the date of passing of the
B award. Under the provisions of the repealed L.A. Act of 1894,
   by operation of Section 16 or 17 (1) of the Act as the case
   may be, once the possession of the acquired land is taken,
  the land will be vested with the State Government and is
  absolutely free from all encumbrances. Thereafter, it is not
C even open for the State Government to restore the land to the
  land owner in exercise of its power under Section 48 of the
  repealed L.A. Act as, it is not permissible in law. The above
  said legal position is laid down by this Court in the cases of
  Satendra Prasad Jain v. State of UP8. and Sanjeevanagar
0
  Medical and Health Emloyees' Co-operative Housing
  Society v. Mohd. Abdul Wahab and Ors. 9 . In the aforesaid
  cases, this Gou rt has held that Section 11 (A) of the repealed
  L.A. Act, is not applicable (which is analogous to Section 24
E of the Act of 2013) and that in such circumstances, the only
  consequence provided under the repealed L.A. Act is payment
  of interest under Section 34 in respect of the acquired land.
  Therefore, the acquisition of land cannot be deemed to have
  lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013, in view of the
F law laid down in the above cases referred to supra. It is further
  contended by the learned counsel for the respondents that the
  above said judgments were not brought to the notice of this
  Court and could not be considered at the time of rendering the
  decision in the case of Pune Municipal Corporation and
G other cases of this Court referred to supra. Therefore, the
  reliance placed upon the said cases by the appellant's senior
  counsel do not render any assistance in support of its case for
  grant of relief as prayed in the application.
      a (1993) 4   sec 369
H     9 (1996) 3   sec 600
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                    109
            [V. GOPALA GOWDA, J.]

      12. It is further contended by the learned counsel that if   A
either of the two negative conditions mentioned in Section
24(2) of the Act of 2013 remains unfulfilled, the acquisition
proceedings of the land involved in this appeal cann~t be held
to have lapsed as it would defeat the purpose of acquisition
and intendmentofthe LA.Act. In otherwords, the two negative        B
conditions contained in Section 24(2) has to be read
conjunctively and as such both the conditions are required to
be fulfilled for the purpose of holding the acquisition
proceedings as lapsed. This aspect of the matter has been
dealt with by this Court in the case of The Punjab Produce         C
and Trading Co. Ltd. v. CIT, West Bengal, Calcutta 10 • It is
contended that this case was also not brought to the notice of
this Court in the case of Pune Municipal Corporation (supra)
and other cases referred to supra and therefore the said
decisions require re-consideration by the larger Bench of this     D
Court.
      13. Further, it is urged that the appellant has violated the
provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the Delhi Land (Restriction
on Transfer) Act, 1972. It is contended that during the E
pendency of the present appeal the appellant has sold the land
admeasuring area 12 Bigha, falling in Khasra Nos. 745(1-18),
746 (2-14), 747 (4-8) 750 (1-16), 751 (1-4) situated in the
Revenue Estate of Village Malikpur Kohi at Rangpuri, Tehsil
Vasant Vihar, New Delhi along with all necessary rights to M/ F
s. DCBC Properties Pvt. ltd. vide registered sale deed No.
6539 dated 1•1 June, 2012 out of which 1 Bigha 2.5 Biswas
in Khasra No. 750 and 18 Biswas in Khasra No. 751 have
been acquired under acquisition notification. Sections 3 and
4 read along with Section 9 of the Delhi Land (Restrictions on G
Transfer) Act of 1972 are extracted hereunder for the purpose
of answering the legal contention urged in this regard:-
10
     (1971) 2 sec 540
                                                                   H
110       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                    [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A        "3. Prohibition on transfer of lands acquired by Central
         Government -
         No person shall purport to transfer by sale, mortgage,
         gift, lease or otherwise any land or part thereof situated
         in the Union territory of Delhi which has been acquired
B
         by the Central Government under the Land Acquisition
         Act, 1984 or under any other law providing for acquisition
         of land for a public purpose.
         4. Regulation on transfer of lands in relation to which
c        acquisition proceedings have been initiated.
         No person shall, except with the previous permission in
         writing of the competent authority, transfer or purport to
         transfer by sale, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise any
         land or part thereof situated in the Union territory of Delhi,
D
         which is proposed to be acquired in connection with the
         Scheme and in relation to which a dedaration to the effect
         that such land or part thereof is needed for a public
         purpose having been made by the Central Government
E        under section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the
         Central Government has not withdrawn from the
         acquisition under section 48 of that Act.


F          9. Penalty-
         If any person contravenes the provisions of section 3 or
         section 4, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for
         a term which may extend to three years or with fine or
         with both."
G
        14. Further the learned counsel for the respondents 2 to
  4 sought to distinguish the two decisions in the case of Prah/ad
  Singh (supra) and Raghbir Singh Sehrawat (supra) and
  further if this Court had to differ from the decision as per Sita
H Ram Bhandar Society, New Delhi v. Lieutenant Governor,
  M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                  111
              [V. GOPALA GOWDA, J.]

 Government Of NCT, Delhi And Others 11 the said cases A
 should have been referred to the larger Bench, that has not
 been done. Therefore, reliance placed upon the aforesa.id
 decisions on behalf of the appellant are of no avail in support
 of the plea taken that physical possession of the land is not
 taken by respondent nos.2, 3 and 4. Therefore, she has B
 requested this Court for the dismissal of the application filed
 under Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013 as it has no application
 in the case on hand.
        15. We have carefully gone through the legal submissions c
  made by the learned counsel on behalf of the parties in respect
  of the application filed by the appellant under Section 24(2) of
  the Act of 2013 with reference to the averments made therein
  and the objection statement filed by respondent Nos. 2-4 and
  response affidavit of the Land Acquisition Collector. The official D
  original record produced before us for our perusal as per our
  direction, discloses that the "Kabza Karyavahi" or possession
  taking proceedings of the acquired land was started on
  27.12.2013.-!\s per the record, on 27.12.2013, the taking over
  of possession was done only to the extent of the vacant portion E
  of the appellant's land whereas the building structure situated
. on the land could not be taken on that day as the demolition
  squad was not available for respondent No.4. Thus, it is clear
  from the said document available on· record that the
  possession of the building structure situated on the appellant's F
  land was not taken by him on 27.12.2013. As per the
  possession memo available in the record, it is recorded in the
  said proceeding that the further action for taking over
  possession in respect of the land were to be continued by the
   Land Acquisition Collector on 28.12.2013 and there is no G
   record to· show as to whether the action continued on
   28.12.2013 in this regard. The alleged taking over of
   possession of the land involved in this appeal was done on
  11
       (2009) 10   sec so1                                          H
112       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A 31.12.2013, as per the document annexure R-1 memo of
  possession taking possession of the acquired land in Award
  no.07/98-99 is signed by the officers of the Land and Building
  Department of the third respondent; the same was alleged to
  have immediately been delivered to the DDA officials i.e.
B respondent no.5 on the same day. According to respondent
  Nos. 3 and 4, the possession of the land involved in this appeal
  has been allegedly taken by them without any objections being
  raised by the appellant-owner. The above said plea taken by
  them cannot be accepted by us as the same is wholly contrary
C to the factual position regarding possession of the land. The
  question of raising objection to respondent Nos. 3 and 4 for
  taking possession of the land by the appellant did not arise at
  all for the reason that notice in this regard was not issued to it
  calling upon it to handover possession of the land to the Land
D Acquisition Collector. The reasons stated at paragraphs 8 and
  9 in the response affidavit filed by one Mr. Vivek Kumar Tripathi,
  who is the Land Acquisition Collector-respondent No. 4 in these
  proceedings with regard to limits of the then existing sub-
E divisions Tehsils in Delhi being modified, consequently the
  revenue estate of the boundaries of village Malikpur Kohi
  Rangpuri which previously formed part of District South, due
  to the said reorganisation, sub-division, Delhi Cantonment and
  sub-division, Vasant Vihar which were earlier part of District
F of South West have become part of District New Delhi.
  Resultantly, village Rangapuri which was part of sub-division
  Vasant Vihar under the jurisdiction of Land Acquisition
  Collector, South-West fell under the jurisdiction of District New
  Delhi. The notification dated 11.09.2012 was issued by the
G first respondent creating 11 districts by altering sub-divisions
  Tehsils in Delhi. Land Acquisition of the land involved in these
  proceedings was transferred from District South-West to the
  office of respondent no.4 on 21.12.2012 and remaining records
  on 14.01.2014. The above said make believe story narrated
H by the Land Acquisition Collector in his affidavit is a deliberate
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                   113
            [V. GOPALA GOWDA, J.]

intention to misreprE!sent facts to justify the alleged taking over A
possession of the land on 31.12.2013. The aforesaid
explanation furnished by the Land Acquisition Collector in his
affidavit for the alleged taking over possession of acquired
land is wholly unnecessary and irrelevant. Therefore, the said
explanation by him cannot be accepted by us. The averments B
made at para 10 of the response affidavit of Land Acquisition
Collector are contrary to the "Kabza Karyavahi (possession
taking over proceedings) dated 27.12.2013 and the reason
stated in the said memo is that the Land Acquisition Collector
could not take possession of the building structure situated on C
the acquired appellant's land, as the demolition squad was
 not available on that day. The possession of the land taking
over documentAnnexure R-1 to the response affidavit dated
 31.12.2013 produced by the Land Acquisition Collector in
 which it is stated that the possession of the land of the appellant D
 has been taken on 31.12.2013 the said averment in the affidavit
 is contradictory to the "kabza karyavahi" document dated
 27.12.2013 available in the original record. The contradictory
 statements made by the Land Acquisition Collector in his E
 response affidavit at para 10 cannot be accepted by us. The
 plea sworn by the Land Acquisition Collector in the affidavit is
 a false statement of fact for the reason that the physical
 possession of the land is in fact not taken and could not have
 been taken by the Land Acquisition Collector from the appellant F
 when the interim order of "status quo" with regard to the
 possession of land of the appellant was passed by this Court
 on 04.08.2008. The said order being well within the knowledge
 of the respondent Nos. 2-5 is evident from the record of
 proceedings of this Court dated 24.09.2010 as the names of G
 learned counsel on behalf of the respondent Nos. 1-5 is shown
 in this Court's record of proceedings. The further plea taken
 by him at para 10 of the said affidavit that the second
  respondent enquired about the litigation status in respect of
 the order passed in relation to this case and other cases of H
114       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2014) 13 S.C.R.


A village Rangpuri from the 5th respondent-DOA and did not
  receive any response from it is once again a false statement
  of fact. Therefore, the office of the 3rd respondent being
  unaware of any interim order of "status quo" is once again a
  false statement and the same has been deliberately made by
B him to justify his action as stated in the respondent affidavit.
  Hence, the statement of facts sworn to at paras 8-10 are liable
  to be rejected and accordingly rejected. Therefore, the plea of
  the Additional District Collector/Land Acquisition Collector and
  its officers to have allegedly taken over possession of the land
C as stated at paragraph 10 of the response affidavit is false
  and it amounts to contempt of this Court committed by them,
  as they have wilfully disobeyed the interim order of this Court
  dated 04.08.2008. Therefore, the plea of taking over
  possession of land of the appellant either on 27.12.2013 as
0
  per the original record or on 31.12.2013 as per document
  Annexure R1 cannot be accepted by us. The respondents have
  misrepresented certain relevant facts to this Court by filing the
  above referred response affidavit with an oblique motive to
E deny the valuable statutory right accrued in favour of the
  appellant under Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013. Hence, the
  conduct of respondent No. 4 and officials of respondent No.3
  in misrepresenting facts is deprecated by us.
         16. The document of Annexure R-1 to the response
F affidavit has been falsely created by respondent Nos. 3 and 4
  with a malafide intention not only to defeat the statutory right
  of the appellant-land owner accrued in its favour under the
  provision of Section 24(2) of the Act of 2013, but it is a clear
  case of misrepresentation of facts to this Court with an oblique
G motive to deprive the valuable constitutional right of the
  appellant to the land involved in these proceedings. This
  conduct of the ADM/Land Acquisition Collector is highly
  objectionable and reprehensible as his action in creating false
  official documents to deny the legitimate right accrued in favour
H
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                      115
            [V. GOPALAGOWDA, J.]

of the appellant, which conduct of him amounts to breach of A
trust reposed ..yith him by the public to discharge his public
functions in the larger interest of public. The public officers are
required to maintain the public record honestly, truly and
correctly, the Additional District Magistrate cadre indulging in
such unlawful acts will discredit the credibility of the public office B
from maintaining trust and confidence in the public office which
is most important and necessary for the good administration
of the second respondent. This has not been done in the case·.
on hand by the Land Acquisition Collector which cannot be
appreciated by this Court.                                             C
      17. Further, the reliance is placed upon the judgment by
the learned senior counsel on behalf of the appellant on Prahlad
Singh's case (supra) to show that the alleged taking over of
the possession of the land is notlegally correct. The relevant D
paragraph reads thus:-
      " 13. We have given our serious thought to the entire
      matter and carefully examined the records. Section 16
      lays down that once the Collector has made an award
      under Section 11, he can take possession of the acquired        E
      land. Simultaneously, the section declares that upon
      taking possession by the Collector, the acquired land shall
      vest absolutely in the Government free from all
      encumbrances. In terms of the plain language of this            F
      section, vesting of the acquired land in the Government
      takes place as soon as possession is taken by the
      Collector after passing an award under Section 11. To
      put it differently. the vesting of land under Section 16 of
      the Act presupposes actual taking of possession and till       G
    . that is done. legal presumption of vesting enshrined in
      Section 16 cannot be raised in favour of the acquiring
      authority. Since the Act does not prescribe the mode and
      manner of taking possession of the acquired land by the
      Collector, it will be useful to notice some of the judgments    H
116        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2014] 13 S.C.R.


A          in which this issue has been considered."
                                  (emphasis supplied by this Court)
        At para 19 of the above case, it has been further clearly
  held that the memo of taking over possession of the acquired
B land must be in the presence of independent witnesses,
  undisputedly the same has not been done by respondent Nos.
  2, 3 and 4 in the case on hand. Therefore, in view of the
  principles laid down in the above case, the plea of the
  respondents that as per memo of possession dated
C 31.12.2013 the possession of the said land of the appellant
  was taken and handed over to the ODA-respondent no.4 on
  the same day is not accepted by us as it is not done in fact
  and could not have been done in view of the interim order
  referred to supra and also the same has not been done in the
D presence of independent witnesses as required in law.
          18. Further, this Court held at para 26 in Raghuvir Singh
      Sehravat's case (supra) as under:-
           "26. Bhagwati, J. (as he then was) and Gupta, J., who
 E         constituted the majority did not agree with Untwalia, J.
           and observed as under: (Ba/want Narayan Bhagde
           case, sec pp. 711-12, para 28)
           "28 . ... We think it is enough to state that when the
 F         Government proceeds to take possession of the land
           acquired by it under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, lt
           must take actual possession of the land, since all
           interests in the land are sought to be acquired by it. There
           can be no question of taking 'symbolical' possession in
G          the sense understood by judicial decisions under the
           Code of Civil Procedure. Nor would possession merely
           on paper be enough. What the Act contemplates as a
           .necessary condition of vesting of the land in the
           Government is the taking of actual possession of the land.
 H
 M/S MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                  117
            [V. GOPALA GOWDA, J.]

     How such possession may be taken would depend on A
     the nature of the land. Such possession would have to
     be taken as the nature of the land admits of .........."
                                 (emphasis laid by this Court)
      Thus, in view of the above decisions, this Court has clearly B
laid down the legal principle as to how taken over physical
possession of the acquired land means the actual taking of
possession of it of it from the land owners/interested persons.
       19. The learned counsel on behalf of respondent C
Nos. 2,3 and 4 sought to distinguish the said judgments by
placing reliance upon the judgment in the case of Sita Ram
Bhandar Society (supra) wherein this Court opined thus:-
      "28. A cumulative reading of the aforesaid judgments
      would reveal that while taking possession, symbolic and D
    · notional possession is perhaps not envisaged under the
      Act but the manner in which possession is taken must of
      necessity depend upon the facts of each case. Keeping
      this broad principle in mind, this Court in TN. Housing
      Board v. A. Viswam after considering the judgment in E
      Narayan Bhagde case, observed that while taking
      possession of a large area of land (in this case 339 acres)
      a pragmatic and realistic approach had to be taken. This
      Court then examined the context under which the
      judgment in Narayan Bhagde case had been rendered F
      and held as under: (Viswam case, sec p. 262, para 9)
     9. It is settled law by series of judgments of this Court
     that one of the accepted modes of taking possession of
     the acquired land is recording of a memorandum or G
     panchnama by the LAO in the presence of witnesses
     signed by him/them and that would constitute taking
     possession of the land as it would be impossible to take
     physical possession of the acquired land. It is common
     knowledge that in some cases the owner/interested H
118        SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2014) 13 S.C.R.


A         person may not be cooperative in taking possession of
          the land.
          29. In Balmokand Khatri Educational and Industrial Trust
          v. State of Punjab yet again the question was as to the
          taking over of the possession of agricultural land and it
B
          was observed thus: (SCC p. 215, para 4)
           4. It is seen that the entire gamut of the acquisition
          proceedings stood completed by 17-4-1976 by which
          date possession of the land had been taken. No doubt,
c         Shri Parekh has contended that the appellant still retained
          their possession. It is now well-settled legal position that
          it is difficult to take physical possession of the land under
          compulsory acquisition. The normal mode of taking
          possession is drafting the panchnama in the presence
D         of panchas and taking possession and giving delivery to
          the beneficiaries is the accepted mode of taking
          possession of the land. Subsequent thereto, the retention
          of possession would tantamount only to illegal or unlawful
          possession."
 E
        20. Further, on the plea taken by the learned counsel on
   behalf of the respondent nos. 2 and 3 regarding contravention
   of Sections 3 and 4 of the Act of 1972 for transfer of the land in
   question by the appellant during the pendency of the
 F proceedings as it was acquired by the NCT on behalf of the
   Central Government by placing reliance on Article 239AA of
   the Constitution, with respect to the contention of 1972Act is
   concerned, the same has no application to the fact situation.
      In view of the said provision, it has been contended by the
 G learned counsel on behalf of the respondent nos. 2, 3 and 4
   that the land and home subject-matters that are in Delhi are
   still with the Central Government and therefore, acquisition of
   land by NCT is the acquisition made by it on behalf of the
   Central Government. This is far-fetched argument of the
 H learned counsel and therefore, the same cannot be accepted
    MIS MAGNUM PROMOTERS P. LTD. v. UNION OF INDIA                    119
               [V. GOPALAGOWDA, J.]

   by us for the reason that the acquisition notification available A
   in the original record would clearly show that the land is
   acquired by the NCT, Delhi and not on behalf of the Central
   Government. Hence, the said contention is liable to be rejected
   and accordingly rejected ..
                                                                      B
       21. Apart from the said reason, even assuming for the
  sake of argument that the Act of 1972 is applicable, it has
  been specifically stated by the learned senior counsel that the
  competent authority has given permission to the appellants to
• transfer the land in favour of subsidiary company of the            c
  appellant. The same can be seen in para 5 of the sale deed
  produced before this Court which reads thus:-
         "5. The vendor have obtained NOC under provisions of
         the Delhi Land (Restriction on transfer) Act, 1972 from
         the concerned department/Tehsildar Notification Delhi D
         and shall obtain all such necessary clearance/permission
         as may be required for effectively transferring and
         conferring the title on the Vendee."
          Therefore, the provisions of Sections 3, 4, and 9 have E
   no application to the fact situation on hand and there is no
   substance in this plea of the respondent and the same is
   rejected.
        22. In view of the aforesaid findings and reasons recorded
   by us, the prayer made in this application is allowed. The F
   acquisition proceedings in respectofthe appellant's land have
   lapsed. Consequently the appeal is also allowed quashing the
   acquisition proceeding notifications in respect of the
   appellant's land. No costs.
                                                                      G

   Nidhi Jain                                         I.A. allowed.