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Sections 112, 113 and 114 Land Acquisition Act 2013: Rules, Power to Remove Difficulties, Repeal and Saving

Sections 112, 113 and 114 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 deal with three concluding statutory matters: previous publication of rules, the Central Government's limited power to remove implementation difficulties, and repeal of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 subject to the statutory saving.

Act: The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 is Act 30 of 2013 and came into force on 1 January 2014.

Section 112 - Previous Publication of Rules

Section 112 provides that the power of the Central Government or a State Government to make rules under the Act is subject to the condition that the rules are made after previous publication.

Previous publication is a legislative drafting mechanism under which proposed subordinate legislation is published before finalisation in accordance with the applicable legal framework. Section 112 therefore places an express previous-publication condition on the rule-making power under the Act.

This provision should be read with Section 109, which confers the rule-making power, and Sections 110 and 111, which deal with laying Central and State rules before the respective legislatures.

Section 113 - Power to Remove Difficulties

Section 113(1)

If a difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the relevant Part, Section 113(1) authorises the Central Government, by order, to make provisions or give directions that are not inconsistent with the Act and that appear necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.

The power is expressly constrained. An order or direction cannot be inconsistent with the Act, and the proviso states that this power cannot be exercised after expiry of two years from commencement of the Act.

Two-year statutory limit

The Act came into force on 1 January 2014. Section 113 itself therefore made the special removal-of-difficulties power time-bound by prohibiting its exercise after the statutory two-year period from commencement.

Section 113(2) - Parliamentary laying

Every order made under Section 113 must be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament. This provides legislative visibility over orders made through the removal-of-difficulties mechanism.

Section 114 - Repeal and Saving

Section 114(1) - Repeal of the 1894 Act

Section 114(1) repeals the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

Section 114(2) - Saving and Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897

Section 114(2) provides that, except as otherwise provided in the 2013 Act, the repeal under Section 114(1) does not prejudice or affect the general application of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 regarding the effect of repeals.

Section 6 of the General Clauses Act contains the general statutory saving framework that may preserve matters such as the previous operation of a repealed enactment, rights and liabilities acquired or incurred under it, penalties incurred for offences committed against it, and legal proceedings or remedies concerning such rights, liabilities or penalties, unless a different intention appears.

Important: The effect of repeal in an individual land acquisition matter cannot be determined from Section 114 alone. Other provisions of the 2013 Act, including provisions specifically dealing with earlier acquisition proceedings, may govern the result and should be examined on the facts of the case.

Sections 112, 113 and 114 at a Glance

Section	Subject	Main effect
112	Previous publication of rules	Central and State rule-making power is subject to rules being made after previous publication.
113	Power to remove difficulties	Provided a time-limited Central Government power to issue consistent provisions or directions for removing implementation difficulties, with orders laid before Parliament.
114	Repeal and saving	Repeals the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 while preserving the general application of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 except where the 2013 Act otherwise provides.

Related Provisions

Section 109: power of the appropriate Government to make rules.
Section 110: Central Government rules to be laid before Parliament.
Section 111: State Government rules to be laid before the State Legislature.
Section 24: addresses specified situations concerning land acquisition proceedings initiated under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and should be separately examined where earlier proceedings are involved.

Official Legal Sources

RFCTLARR Act 2013 - India Code

General Clauses Act 1897 - India Code

This article provides general legal information. The effect of repeal, savings, prior acquisition proceedings, rules or notifications in a particular matter depends on the applicable statutory provisions and facts.