Published Feb 10, 2026 | 10:27 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 10, 2026 | 10:28 PM
Supreme Court
Synopsis: The Supreme Court has allowed 530 appeals filed by the Karnataka government against enhanced land compensation awarded for major public projects, setting aside a High Court view that delays beyond 120 days could not be condoned and providing relief to the State.
The Supreme Court of India has allowed 530 appeals filed by the Karnataka government against enhanced compensation awarded to landowners whose land was acquired for major public projects, including the Upper Krishna Basin Project, the Singatalur Lift Irrigation Project, State Highway works and others.
In a ruling on Monday, 9 February, the apex court, while hearing Deputy Commissioner and Special Land Acquisition Officer vs SV Global Mills (SLP Civil No 215 of 2023) along with connected matters, overruled an earlier High Court order and provided significant relief to the State.
The Revenue Department, in a press statement on Tuesday, said the ruling was protecting “public money running into several tens of thousands of crores of rupees, ensuring their optimal utilisation for the welfare and development of the people of Karnataka.”
The cases pertain to a dispute over compensation related to land acquired across Karnataka for various public and infrastructure projects.
The Revenue Department said landowners approached civil courts, functioning as Reference Courts, seeking enhanced compensation over and above what was awarded by the Land Acquisition Officers.
In a majority of cases, the Reference Courts granted what the State described as “excessive and questionable enhancements, often without reference to the correct market value or relevant guidance values”.
Challenging these awards, the State government filed appeals before the High Court under Section 74 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
However, most of these appeals were dismissed by the High Court on the ground that delay beyond 120 days could not be condoned under the 2013 Act.
As a result, the High Court declined to examine the merits of the cases and confirmed the enhanced compensation awarded by the Reference Courts.
The State also claimed that there was “serious and systematic collusion” between officials and advocates in the manner in which arguments were placed before Reference Courts and in the subsequent failure to file timely appeals before the High Court.
This, it said, led to unreasonably excessive compensation orders becoming final due to limitation, exposing the public exchequer to losses running into tens of thousands of crores of rupees.
Subsequently, the State challenged the interpretation of Section 74 before the Supreme Court.
Ruling in favour of the State, the Supreme Court directed High Courts to adopt a liberal and pragmatic approach while considering applications for condonation of delay in land acquisition matters.
It clarified that delay can be condoned even beyond the 120-day period prescribed under Section 74 of the 2013 Act by invoking Section 5 of the Limitation Act.
The apex court also expressed serious concern over the manner in which delays had occurred in filing appeals across the country. It noted that the nearly 530 appeals before it were classic examples of “lackadaisical” functioning and possible official connivance, as in many cases even copy applications were not filed within the prescribed time after Reference Court judgments.
The Supreme Court accordingly directed acquiring bodies and State authorities to put in place effective management, monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure that appeals and Special Leave Petitions are filed within time in future.
Karnataka constituted a High Level Inquiry Committee in September 2025 to examine the causes of delay in filing land acquisition appeals and to fix responsibility on erring officers. The committee’s report is expected to be tabled shortly.
The Revenue Department also said it is in the process of implementing a robust institutional mechanism and dedicated software systems to prevent delays in land acquisition matters and court filings.
