Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Enquiry and Award by Collector

Bare Act text of Section 11

Section 11(1): What the Collector had to enquire into

On the date fixed under the preceding notice procedure, or on an adjourned date, the Collector was required to enquire into three connected matters:

• objections, if any, raised pursuant to the Section 9 notice concerning measurements made under Section 8;
• the value of the land at the date of publication of the notification under Section 4(1); and
• the respective interests of the persons claiming compensation.

What the Section 11 award contained

After the inquiry, the Collector's signed award had to address:

• true area of the land;
• compensation which, in the Collector's opinion, should be allowed for the land; and
• apportionment of compensation among all persons known or believed to be interested, including persons who had not appeared if the Collector had information about them or their claims.

The compensation inquiry under Section 11 operated with the statutory compensation rules, including the matters specified in Sections 23 and 24.

Previous approval of the award

The first proviso to Section 11(1) stated that the Collector could not make an award under that subsection without previous approval of the appropriate Government or an officer authorised by that Government.

The second proviso allowed the appropriate Government to direct that the Collector could make awards without such approval in specified classes of cases. Accordingly, the approval requirement had to be read together with any valid Government direction applicable to the class of acquisition concerned.

Section 11(2): Award by written agreement

Subsection (2) began with a non-obstante clause overriding subsection (1) for its specified situation. If, at any stage, the Collector was satisfied that all persons interested in the land who had appeared before him agreed in writing on the matters to be included in the award, in the form prescribed by rules made by the appropriate Government, the Collector could make an award according to that agreement without further enquiry.

Sections 11(3) and 11(4): Effect of an agreed award

Compensation for other lands not affected

Under subsection (3), compensation determined for land through the subsection (2) agreement mechanism did not affect determination of compensation for other land in the same locality or elsewhere. Those other determinations continued to be governed by the remaining provisions of the Act.

No registration of the agreement required

Subsection (4) operated notwithstanding the Registration Act, 1908 and expressly provided that an agreement made under subsection (2) was not liable to registration under that Act.

Meaning of important expressions

Collector

Section 3(c) defined "Collector" to include the Collector of a district, a Deputy Commissioner and an officer specially appointed by the appropriate Government to perform the functions of a Collector under the Act.

Person interested

Section 3(b) broadly included persons claiming an interest in compensation to be made on account of acquisition under the Act and included a person interested in an easement affecting the land.

Award

For Section 11, the award was the Collector's statutory determination addressing the true area, compensation and its apportionment following the required inquiry, or an award made according to a qualifying written agreement under subsection (2).

Relationship with Sections 8, 9, 10 and 11A

Sections 8 and 9 dealt with measurement and notice to interested persons. Section 10 enabled the Collector to obtain statements concerning names and interests. Section 11 then governed the enquiry and award. Section 11A imposed the statutory period within which the award had to be made, subject to its own proviso and explanation.

Current legal status

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is no longer the general Central statute governing new acquisitions. The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 came into force on 1 January 2014 and repealed the 1894 Act through Section 114, subject to the applicable saving and transitional framework. Older acquisition proceedings therefore require examination of their dates, procedural stage, applicable transitional provisions and any relevant State amendments.