Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 – Section 14 – Lapse of Social Impact Assessment Report.
High Court of Kerala
Hon’ble Mr. Justice C. Jayachandran
W.P.(C) No. 15448 of 2025, July 1, 2025
Held: The Writ Petition challenged the validity of Notification Ext.P5 dated 22.03.2025, issued in cancellation of Notification Ext.P4 dated 09.11.2023, under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The Court held that Ext.P5 was invalid as it was issued beyond the 12-month period stipulated under Section 14 of the 2013 Act from the appraisal of the Social Impact Assessment Report on 09.11.2020, without any extension of time as per the proviso to Section 14. The Court ruled that a fresh Social Impact Assessment Report is mandatory for proceeding with acquisition under Ext.P5, as the previous report had lapsed. The argument that Ext.P5 was a continuation of Ext.P4 was rejected, as Ext.P4 was fully cancelled. The Court set aside Ext.P5 and directed the authorities to conduct a fresh Social Impact Assessment Study and Report before proceeding with acquisition under Section 11 of the 2013 Act.
