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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Land Law 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions - KSLU

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Land Law

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10

2023 Mar Examination

munotes.in

Mumbai

First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.

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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.

The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered

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Read the original question paper

Q1

Unit I

(a)Explain the special powers of Appropriate Government under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 to take possession of land in time of emergency.[10]

Answer

For full marks, cover: why an urgency power exists and how it was misused under section 17 of the 1894 Act; the power to take possession before the award (section 40(1)); the narrow list of emergencies (section 40(2)); notice before entering a building; tender of eighty per cent of the estimated compensation (section 40(3)); power to dispense with Chapters II to VI (section 40(4)) and with the social impact study (section 9); the additional seventy-five per cent compensation (section 40(5)); limits on the power and judicial review; cases; conclusion.

Why an urgency power

Ordinary acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 takes time. It passes through a social impact study, a preliminary notification, objections, a rehabilitation scheme, a declaration and an award. Possession is taken only after compensation and rehabilitation are paid or provided. Some needs cannot wait that long, such as a flood, an earthquake or a threat to national security. Section 40 therefore lets the Government take possession at once in a true emergency.

The background: section 17 of the 1894 Act

Under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, section 17 allowed possession fifteen days after the notice of claims, before the award. Section 17(4) allowed the Government to skip the hearing of objections under section 5-A of that Act. Governments often used it for housing colonies and industrial estates, so owners went unheard. The Supreme Court struck down many such acquisitions. The 2013 Act keeps the power but confines it closely.

The special powers under section 40

Possession before the award (section 40(1)). In cases of urgency, when the appropriate Government so directs, the Collector may take possession of land needed for a public purpose. He may do so thirty days after the public notice of claims under section 21, though no award has been made. The land then vests absolutely in the Government, free from all encumbrances.
Only for listed emergencies (section 40(2)). The power is restricted to the minimum area required for:

the defence of India or national security;
emergencies arising out of natural calamities; or
any other emergency, with the approval of Parliament.

Notice before entering a building. The Collector may not take possession of a building without giving the occupier at least forty-eight hours' notice. A longer notice is needed if required to remove movable property without unnecessary inconvenience.
Tender of eighty per cent (section 40(3)). Before taking possession, the Collector must tender eighty per cent of the compensation he estimates to the persons interested.
Dispensing with procedure (section 40(4)). The Government may direct that any or all of Chapters II to VI shall not apply. Those chapters cover the social impact study, food security, the notification and objections, rehabilitation and the award procedure. The declaration under section 19 may then be made at any time after the preliminary notification.

Exemption from the social impact study (section 9). Where urgency is invoked under section 40, the Government may exempt the project from the study.
Additional compensation (section 40(5)). The Collector must pay an extra seventy-five per cent of the total compensation fixed under section 27. No extra amount is paid for a project affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India or the security and strategic interests of the State. The same applies to relations with foreign States.

How the 2013 Act limits the power

A closed list. Under the 1894 Act, any urgency the Government felt was enough. Now only defence, national security and natural calamities qualify, and any other emergency needs Parliament's approval.
Minimum area. The power reaches only the minimum land the emergency needs.
Money first. Eighty per cent must be tendered before possession, and the owner later receives seventy-five per cent more as a premium.

Thirty days. Even urgent possession waits thirty days from the notice of claims, against fifteen days under the 1894 Act.
Judicial review. The Government's opinion that urgency exists is not final. The courts examine whether the facts disclose a real emergency within section 40(2).

Cases

Radhy Shyam v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2011) 5 SCC 553. The State invoked sections 17(1) and 17(4) of the 1894 Act to acquire land at Greater Noida for planned industrial development. The Supreme Court held there was no real urgency. The time needed to hear objections could not be called delay that frustrated the purpose. The acquisition was quashed. Section 40(2) now writes this caution into the statute.

Chameli Singh v. State of U.P., 1995 Supp (6) SCR 827. Land was acquired urgently for house sites for Scheduled Castes, and the section 5-A inquiry was dispensed with. The Court upheld the acquisition, saying "Larger the delay, greater be the urgency" while the housing need stayed unmet. Under section 40(2) of the 2013 Act, such a housing project would no longer qualify as urgent without Parliament's approval.

Kedar Nath Yadav v. State of West Bengal, decided on 31 August 2016. About 1,000 acres at Singur were acquired for a car factory. The Court quashed the acquisition because the objections were not properly considered, and ordered the land returned. The case shows what is lost when the hearing stage is cut short.

Conclusion. Section 40 lets the Collector take possession thirty days after the notice of claims, before any award, and the land vests free of encumbrances. The power is confined to the minimum area for defence, national security, natural calamities or an emergency approved by Parliament. The owner receives eighty per cent before possession and seventy-five per cent extra later. The Government may skip the social impact study and Chapters II to VI. These limits answer decades of misuse of section 17 that the courts had to correct.

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Land Law 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions

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