Allahabad HC: Government cannot force private landowners to execute sale deeds

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that government authorities cannot force private landowners to execute sale deeds for the acquisition of land. The Lucknow Bench of the court delivered the ruling on Friday, stating that land can be purchased through a sale deed only when the owner voluntarily agrees to sell and both sides mutually agree on the sale price.

The court, comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, passed the order on a petition filed by Akhilesh Kumar Pankaj and seven others concerning the acquisition of their land in Devipatan Tulsipur village of Balrampur district for road widening.

Court's observations

The bench said that if no consent is forthcoming from the landowner, the state government will have to follow the statutory land acquisition procedure. The court directed authorities not to harass the petitioners or forcibly obtain their consent for executing sale deeds. It also made clear that voluntary sale and compulsory acquisition are two distinct legal processes.

The state government informed the court that the land was being purchased for widening the road and that nearly 80 per cent of the required land had already been purchased through sale deeds, with around 104 registrations executed by different landowners. However, the authorities had not been able to contact the petitioners or obtain their consent for the purchase of their land.

The petitioners submitted that they were not willing to sell their land and alleged that the authorities were pressuring them to sell their property at a rate which was unacceptable to them.

Legal recourse

After considering the issue, the bench observed that the law on the issue was clear. If the landowners are willing to sell and the state is able to negotiate and arrive at an agreement on the sale price, they could sell the property to the state. However, in the absence of such consent, the state would have to issue a notification under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The court also clarified that any petitioner who voluntarily wishes to sell the property may execute a sale deed in accordance with law.