Section 90 Land Acquisition Act 2013: Cognizance Only on Complaint by Certain Persons
Section 90 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 regulates when a court may take cognizance of an offence alleged to have been committed by a Requiring Body.
Section 90 - Offences to be cognizable only on complaint filed by certain persons
No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act which is alleged to have been committed by a Requiring Body except on a complaint in writing made by the Collector or any other officer authorised by the appropriate Government or any member of the affected family.
Meaning and scope of Section 90
Section 90 creates a statutory condition for the court to take cognizance where an offence under the Act is alleged against a Requiring Body. The complaint must be in writing and must come from one of the persons expressly identified in the section.
- Collector: the Collector may make the written complaint.
- Authorised officer: another officer may complain if authorised by the appropriate Government.
- Member of the affected family: the section expressly permits a member of an affected family to make the written complaint.
- Requiring Body: Section 3 of the Act contains the statutory definitions used for interpreting the Act, including the expression "Requiring Body".
Why the provision matters
The section concerns the threshold for judicial cognizance. It does not itself prescribe the substantive punishment for every offence. The offences and penalties provisions are contained in Chapter XII of the Act, including Sections 84 to 90. Sections 88 and 89 should also be read with Section 90 because they address the competent criminal court and the non-cognizable character of offences under the Act.
Practical reading: where the allegation concerns an offence by a Requiring Body, the court must examine whether the written complaint satisfies Section 90 before taking cognizance.
Related provisions
For the surrounding statutory scheme, see Section 84 - Punishment for false information and mala fide action, Section 85 - Penalty for contravention, Section 86 - Offences by companies, Section 87 - Offences by Government Departments, and Sections 88 and 89 - Cognizance and non-cognizable offences.
The full enactment should be consulted for definitions, exceptions, amendments, applicable State rules and case-specific requirements.