Section 37 Land Acquisition Act 2013 - Awards of Collector When to Be Final
Section 37 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act) deals with the filing and evidentiary finality of the Collector's award, notice of the award to absent interested persons, and public disclosure of acquisition proceedings.
What Section 37 provides
The provision operates after the Collector makes the land acquisition award. It requires the award to be filed in the Collector's office and identifies the matters for which the award is treated, subject to the other provisions of the Act, as final and conclusive evidence between the Collector and persons interested.
Section 37 - Awards of Collector when to be final
(1) The Awards shall be filed in the Collector's office and shall, except as hereinafter provided, be final and conclusive evidence, as between the Collector and the persons interested, whether they have respectively appeared before the Collector or not, of the true area and market value of the land and the assets attached thereto, solatium so determined and the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested.
(2) The Collector shall give immediate notice of his awards to such of the persons interested who are not present personally or through their representatives when the awards are made.
(3) The Collector shall keep open to the public and display a summary of the entire proceedings undertaken in a case of acquisition of land including the amount of compensation awarded to each individual along with details of the land finally acquired under this Act on the website created for this purpose.
Meaning and legal effect of Section 37
- Filing of award: The Collector's award must be filed in the Collector's office.
- Final and conclusive evidence: Subject to the remedies and other provisions of the Act, the award is evidence between the Collector and persons interested regarding the true area, market value, value of attached assets, solatium and apportionment of compensation.
- Presence is not decisive: The statutory evidentiary effect applies whether a person interested appeared before the Collector or not.
- Immediate notice: A person interested who was not present personally or through a representative when the award was made must receive immediate notice from the Collector.
- Public disclosure: A summary of the acquisition proceedings, individual compensation amounts and details of the land finally acquired must be made publicly available on the designated website.
Who is a "person interested"?
For the RFCTLARR Act, the expression "person interested" is defined in Section 3. Broadly, the definition covers persons claiming an interest in compensation and specified categories of persons whose interests or rights may be affected by acquisition. The statutory definition should be consulted when deciding whether a person is entitled to notice or other rights under the Act.
Meaning of "Collector"
Section 3 of the Act defines "Collector" to include the Collector of a revenue district and also a Deputy Commissioner or another officer specially designated by the appropriate Government to perform the functions of a Collector under the Act.
Relationship with other award provisions
Section 37 should be read with the surrounding provisions governing the Collector's award. Section 23 concerns the enquiry and land acquisition award; Sections 26 to 30 govern market value, compensation and solatium; Section 33 permits specified corrections to awards; Section 36 permits the appropriate Government to call for records before the award is made under Section 30; and Section 38 governs taking possession after the statutory compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement requirements are satisfied.
Does Section 37 prevent a challenge to compensation?
No absolute bar should be inferred from the words "final and conclusive evidence." Sub-section (1) itself uses the qualification "except as hereinafter provided." The Act contains mechanisms through which eligible persons may seek determination of disputes concerning matters such as measurement, compensation, the persons to whom compensation is payable, rehabilitation and resettlement rights, and apportionment. The applicable remedy, limitation period and procedure depend on the facts and the relevant provisions of the Act.
Importance of notice under Section 37(2)
Where an interested person or representative was not present when the award was made, the Collector has a statutory duty to give immediate notice of the award. This requirement is important because knowledge and communication of the award may affect the exercise of remedies available under the Act.
Transparency requirement under Section 37(3)
Sub-section (3) creates a public disclosure obligation. The Collector must keep open to the public and display on the website created for the purpose a summary of the acquisition proceedings, the compensation awarded to each individual and details of the land finally acquired. This requirement reflects the transparency objective expressed in the title and scheme of the 2013 Act.
Official legal sources
For the authoritative statutory text and current Central Government material, refer to the official India Code text of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 and the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development. State amendments, rules and notifications may also apply to a particular acquisition.
Note: This page is a general explanation of the Central Act. For a specific acquisition, check the applicable State amendments, rules, notifications and the relevant acquisition record.
Updated: October 2026