Section 28A and 29 of Land Acquisition Act 1894: Re-determination of Compensation and Apportionment
Sections 28A and 29 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 dealt with two distinct compensation issues: re-determination of compensation for certain landowners on the basis of a Court award, and recording an agreed apportionment where compensation was payable to several persons interested.
Section 28A: Re-determination of compensation on the basis of the award of the Court
Section 28A created a statutory remedy for certain persons interested in land covered by the same acquisition notification who had not sought a reference under Section 18. If the Court, in an award under Part III of the 1894 Act, granted compensation exceeding the amount awarded by the Collector under Section 11, an eligible person could ask the Collector to re-determine the compensation payable to that person on the basis of the Court's award.
Section 28A(1) - core rule
Where a Court award under the relevant Part allowed an applicant compensation exceeding the amount awarded by the Collector under Section 11, other persons interested in land covered by the same notification under Section 4(1), who were also aggrieved by the Collector's award, could make a written application to the Collector for re-determination even though they had not made an application under Section 18.
Who could seek re-determination under Section 28A?
For the statutory remedy described in Section 28A(1), the applicant had to be a person interested in other land covered by the same Section 4(1) notification, be aggrieved by the Collector's award, and rely on a Court award granting compensation above the Collector's award. The provision specifically addressed persons who had not made a Section 18 application.
Section 4(1) concerned the preliminary notification that land was needed or likely to be needed for a public purpose or for a company under the 1894 Act.
Section 11 dealt with the Collector's award, including the true area of the land, compensation and apportionment among persons known or believed to be interested.
Section 18 enabled a person interested who had not accepted the award to require a reference to the Court on matters specified in that provision, subject to its statutory requirements.
Time limit: application within three months
Section 28A(1) required the written application to the Collector to be made within three months from the date of the Court's award. For computing that three-month period, the day on which the award was pronounced and the time required for obtaining a copy of the award were excluded under the proviso.
| Requirement | Position under Section 28A |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Court awards compensation exceeding the amount awarded by the Collector under Section 11. |
| Relevant land | Other land covered by the same notification under Section 4(1). |
| Application | Written application to the Collector. |
| Period | Within three months from the date of the Court's award, subject to the statutory exclusion for the date of pronouncement and time required to obtain a copy. |
Section 28A(2): inquiry, notice and opportunity of hearing
After receiving an application under Section 28A(1), the Collector was required to conduct an inquiry. Notice had to be given to all persons interested, with a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The Collector would then make an award determining the compensation payable to the applicants.
Section 28A(3): reference to Court if the re-determination award was not accepted
A person who did not accept the award made under Section 28A(2) could make a written application requiring the Collector to refer the matter for determination by the Court. Sections 18 to 28 were then to apply, so far as applicable, as they applied to a reference under Section 18.
Section 29: particulars of apportionment to be specified
Section 29 applied where several persons were interested in the compensation and they agreed on how it should be apportioned. The particulars of that agreed apportionment were required to be specified in the award. As between those persons, the award was conclusive evidence of the correctness of the apportionment.
In this context, apportionment means the division or allocation of the compensation amount among two or more persons having interests in the acquired land. Section 29 dealt with the position where those persons agreed on that division. Disputes as to apportionment were dealt with separately under Section 30 of the 1894 Act.
Practical relationship between Sections 28A and 29
Section 28A concerned the amount of compensation payable to an eligible applicant after a higher Court award, whereas Section 29 concerned how compensation was to be divided among several persons where they had agreed on the apportionment. The provisions therefore addressed different stages and issues within the compensation framework of the 1894 Act.
Legal status after commencement of the 2013 Act
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 Land Acquisition Act, 1894 through Section 114. Questions concerning acquisitions initiated under the old Act can nevertheless require examination of the 2013 Act's transitional provisions, its repeal-and-saving clause, Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and the facts and procedural stage of the particular acquisition.
This page is a general legal information article on the pre-2014 statutory framework and is not a substitute for advice on the facts of a particular acquisition or compensation proceeding.