RFCTLARR Act Not Applicable To Acquisitions Under Bangalore Development Authority Act; LA Act 1894 Act Applies: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 Act are not applicable for the acquisitions made under the Bangalore Development Authority Act.

The bench comprising Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna observed that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, continue to apply for acquisitions made in the BDA Act so far as they are applicable as it is a legislation by incorporation.

The BDA Act was enacted by the Legislature of the State of Karnataka to provide for the establishment of a Development Authority for the development of city of Bangalore and the areas adjacent thereto and for matters connected therewith. Chapter IV of the BDA Act deals with "Acquisition of Land". Section 36 provides that the the acquisition of land under this Act otherwise than by agreement within or without the Bangalore Metropolitan Area shall be regulated by the provisions, so far as they are applicable, of the Land Acquisition Act. 1894.

In a case, the Karnataka High Court held that the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, 'LA Act') that are made applicable to the BDA, are in the nature of legislation by reference. It was further held that in view of the repeal of the LA Act by coming into force of RFCTLARR Act, it would be the corresponding provisions under the 2013 Act in so far as they are applicable which would regulate the acquisition proceedings.

On Section 36 of BDA Act, the bench observed that it is a legislation by incorporation. The court said:

12...The intention of the Legislature is to take recourse for the provisions of the LA Act to a limited extent and subject to the supremacy of the provisions of the BDA Act. This is evident from the expression "so far as they are applicable" employed in sub-section (1) of Section 36. In Offshore Holdings Private Limited (supra), a Constitution Bench of this Court, after considering the scheme of the BDA Act and having regard to the language employed in Section 36, held that it is a legislation by incorporation.

13...Incorporation of an earlier Act into the later Act is a legislative device for the sake of convenience in order to avoid verbatim reproduction of the provisions of the earlier Act into the later Act. Once the incorporation is made, the provisions of incorporated statute become an integral part of the statute in which it is transferred and thereafter there is no need to refer to the statute from which incorporation is made and any subsequent amendment made in it has no effect on the incorporating statute.

The court observed that provisions of the Land Acquisition Act continue to apply for acquisitions made in the BDA Act so far as they are applicable as it is a legislation by incorporation having regard to Section 36 of the BDA Act.

19. The 2013 Act repeals only the LA Act and not any other Central or State enactment dealing with acquisition. Therefore, 13 what is sought to be saved under Section 24 of the 2013 Act is only acquisitions which had been initiated under the LA Act and not those acquisitions which had been initiated under any other Central or State enactment. The expression contained in Section 24 of the LA Act cannot be given extensive interpretation by adding words into the provision, in the absence of the provision itself giving rise to any such implication. We are of the view that 2013 Act would not regulate the acquisition proceedings made under the BDA Act

While allowing the application, the bench held thus:

23. In view of the above, the Learned Judge of the High Court in Sri Sudhakar Hegde (supra) was not justified in holding that the provisions of LA Act that are made applicable to the BDA Act are in the nature of legislation by reference. The learned Judge has also erred in holding that in view of the repeal of LA Act by coming into force of 2013 Act, the corresponding provisions of 2013 Act would regulate acquisition proceedings under the BDA Act and that this would include determination of compensation in accordance with 2013 Act. It 15 is hereby clarified that since LA Act has been incorporated into the BDA Act so far as they are applicable, the provisions of 2013 Act are not applicable for the acquisitions made under the BDA Act. Therefore, the judgment of the learned Single Judge of the High Court in Sri Sudhakar Hegde (supra) and other connected matters is hereby overruled

Case name: Bangalore Development Authority Vs State Of Karnataka

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 76

Case no./Date: I.A.No.147134 of 2021 | 20 Jan 2022

Coram: Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna 

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