Compensation For Land Acquisition Payable Even Without Representation: Bombay High Court Upholds Corporation's Duty Under Article 300-A
Saksham Vaishya
10 July 2025 2:55 PM IST
The Bombay High Court has held that once a municipal corporation has assured landowners Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in lieu of land acquired for a public project, it is constitutionally and statutorily bound to honour the commitment. The Court quashed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's 2024 refusal to confer TDR, directing it to issue the same as previously assured in 2001.
A Division Bench of Justices Nitin W. Sambre and Sachin S. Deshmukh was hearing a writ petition filed by the petitioner owning land which was impacted by a 24-meter Development Plan (D.P.) road under the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP), and 5200 sq. meters were surrendered by the Society without compensation, relying on a communication dated 02 August 2001 wherein the Corporation assured TDR in return. The Corporation rejected requests for TDR by communication dated 05 December 2024, citing alleged ineligibility and delay.
The Court rejected the Corporation's stand, holding:
“… Society herein has acted upon the assurance on behalf of the respondent-Corporation while surrendering their land in lieu of compensation and availing the benefits of TDR, therefore, is legitimately entitled to claim it. Thus, having acted upon the same, it is not open for the respondent-Corporation to retract from the same and alter its decision, which is prejudicial to the interest of the petitioner-Society and its members.”
Referring to Article 300-A of the Constitution and Section 126(1)(b) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP Act), the Court emphasized that the right to property, though no longer a fundamental right, remains a constitutionally protected right. It observed that the respondent-Corporation was bound to compensate landowners for land used for public purposes, either in cash or through TDR.
On the issue of delay, the Court observed that in the wake of constitutional and statutory mandate, the respondent Corporation is under an obligation to compensate the owners who have acquired the land.
Further, the court remarked, “once the compensation is determined in the form of TDR, as has been done… the same is payable even in the absence of there being any representation or request.”
The Court concluded that the Corporation could not escape its statutory and constitutional obligations, and directed it to confer the TDR as indicated in the prior assurances and certificates.
Case Title: Shramik Co-operative Housing Society v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 1493 of 2025]