# Section 28A: Three Months From the Award, Says SC

By Saurabh Garg, founder·7 min read·Published 2026-09-24
**Short answer:** On 21 September 2026 the Supreme Court held that a landowner who wants higher compensation under section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on the strength of a neighbour's enhanced award, must apply within three months of the first award that raised the rate. The clock does not wait for the owner to find out about that award, and a later High Court order that only follows the first one does not restart it. The Court set aside a High Court order in favour of the landowners and rejected their application, filed in 2022 on an enhancement first granted in 2019.

# Three Months From the Award, Not From the Day You Heard: the Supreme Court on Section 28A

**If your family's land was acquired and a neighbour later won a higher rate in court, the law lets you claim the same rate without having fought the case yourself. On 21 September 2026 the Supreme Court held that the window for that claim is three months from the first award that raised the rate. It does not open when you learn of the award, and a later order that repeats the first one does not open it again.**

## The case

The judgment is *New Okhla Industrial Development Authority & Anr. v. Rajveer Singh & Ors.*, a civil appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 18801 of 2025, decided by J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran JJ. It was pronounced at New Delhi on 21 September 2026, runs to 25 pages and is marked Reportable. The PDF carries no neutral citation, so none is given here.

The Noida authority was the body the land was acquired for. The facts, from paragraph 3:

- The land was acquired under section 4(1) read with section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The award was passed on 15 February 1977.

- The respondents' predecessors took the full compensation and did not ask for a reference to court under section 18.

- Other owners under the same notification did. The Additional District Judge, Ghaziabad rejected their reference on 25 November 1981.

- Two First Appeals followed in the High Court. First Appeal No. 593 of 1982 raised the compensation on 8 July 2019. First Appeal No. 458 of 1982 was disposed of on 18 April 2022, relying on the 2019 order.

- The respondents applied under section 28A on 23 May 2022, within three months of the 2022 order. The Collector rejected the application. The High Court allowed their challenge. The Supreme Court has now reversed the High Court.

## What section 28A does

Section 28A is a second chance for owners who did not go to court. Paragraph 10 sets out the conditions from *Union of India v. Pradeep Kumari*, (1995) 2 SCC 736. The applicant must hold other land under the same section 4(1) notification, must not have sought a section 18 reference, and must apply "within three months from the date of the award on the basis of which the redetermination of amount of compensation is sought".

## What the Court held

The clock starts on the first enhancement. Paragraph 22 says the respondents' claim "commenced on 08.07.2019, stood barred on expiry of three months therefrom." Paragraph 23 puts the last day at 7 October 2019.

Knowing about it later does not help. Paragraph 23 follows *Popat Bahiru Govardhane*, (2013) 10 SCC 765, which held that the limitation runs from "the date of award and not the date of knowledge." Paragraph 17, describing that case, records that the law of limitation must be applied "with all its rigour when the statute so prescribes."

A repeat order does not reset it. The respondents argued that each appellate order should give a fresh right, since section 28A is a beneficial provision. Paragraph 34 rejects that: "there is no question of successive orders in First Appeal, conferring fresh cause of action". The High Court is bound by the first order of a bench of equal strength, so the later order adds nothing.

Where an appeal order can count. Paragraphs 19 to 21 and 27 accept *Banwari v. HSIIDC*, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3685, for one situation: where the reference court rejected the reference outright and the High Court's appeal made the first enhancement. Paragraph 20 finds the same facts here, which is why the respondents' window opened with the High Court order of 8 July 2019. It closed three months later.

Disposition. Paragraph 35: "We, hence, allow the appeal, setting aside the impugned order and rejecting the application under Section 28-A". Paragraph 29 also records that where an appeal from the reference court's award is still pending, the Collector should keep a section 28A application in abeyance, following *Bharatsing v. State of Maharashtra*, (2018) 11 SCC 92.

The Court disagreed with its own 2026 decision in *Andanayya v. Deputy Chief Engineer*, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 482, which allowed a second section 28A application after a High Court award. It found that view "directly in conflict" with two three-judge bench decisions but held a reference was not "expedient" on these facts (paragraphs 28 to 32).

## What it means for an NRI family

Acquired land can reach an NRI as inheritance: a grandfather's field taken decades ago for an industrial authority, a highway or a township. Enhancement litigation over such land can run for more than forty years, as it did here, where the award is dated 1977 and the application 2022. An heir living abroad may hear of a neighbour's win long after it happened.

This judgment says the law does not wait for that news. If a court raises the rate for land under the same notification, the section 28A window is three months from that first order. A later order that copies it, reached years afterwards, does not revive a claim that lapsed. The judgment does not say what the respondents knew or when, and it does not decide any question about the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

For who in the family holds the claim, start with our guide to [inheriting property in India as an NRI](/guides/inheriting-property-india-nri). A limitation question on a specific acquisition belongs with a lawyer who can read that file's awards and dates.

## FAQ

**When does the three-month period under section 28A start?**
From the date of the award that first raised the compensation for land under the same notification. The Supreme Court held on 21 September 2026 that it runs from the award, not from the day the owner learned of it.

**Does a later High Court order give me a fresh three months?**
Not if it only follows an earlier order that already raised the rate. Paragraph 34 of the judgment holds that successive First Appeal orders give no fresh cause of action.

**Who can apply under section 28A?**
An owner whose land was taken under the same section 4(1) notification, who did not ask for a section 18 reference, and who applies within three months of the award that raised the rate. Those are the conditions paragraph 10 of the judgment takes from *Pradeep Kumari*.

**What happens if an appeal from the enhanced award is still pending?**
Paragraph 29 says the Collector should keep a section 28A application that was filed in time in abeyance until the appeal is decided, following *Bharatsing*. The application still has to be filed within the three months.

**Can a High Court appeal order ever start the clock?**
Yes, where the reference court rejected the reference and the High Court's appeal was the first enhancement. That is the *Banwari* situation, which the Court accepted. The three months then run from that first appeal order.

*66 MG Road newsdesk*

## Sources

- *New Okhla Industrial Development Authority & Anr. v. Rajveer Singh & Ors.*, Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 18801 of 2025, Supreme Court of India, J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran JJ, pronounced 21 September 2026, 25 pages, Reportable. The Court's own PDF was downloaded by our desk on 24 September 2026, HTTP 200, 353,856 bytes, sha256 f4123e05719d0a436ae9ac1bf73703508efe8a110acceca05636ce9018c88144, and read in full: [https://www.sci.gov.in/sci-get-pdf/?diary_no=186502025&type=j&order_date=2026-09-21&from=latest_judgements_order](https://www.sci.gov.in/sci-get-pdf/?diary_no=186502025&type=j&order_date=2026-09-21&from=latest_judgements_order)

- The Supreme Court's viewer page for the same judgment: [https://www.sci.gov.in/view-pdf/?diary_no=186502025&type=j&order_date=2026-09-21&from=latest_judgements_order](https://www.sci.gov.in/view-pdf/?diary_no=186502025&type=j&order_date=2026-09-21&from=latest_judgements_order)

- The judgment PDF carries no neutral citation, so none is given here.

- *Union of India v. Pradeep Kumari*, (1995) 2 SCC 736; *Popat Bahiru Govardhane v. Special Land Acquisition Officer*, (2013) 10 SCC 765; *Banwari v. HSIIDC*, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3685; *Andanayya v. Deputy Chief Engineer*, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 482. *Bharatsing v. State of Maharashtra*, (2018) 11 SCC 92. Each is quoted as the 21 September 2026 judgment quotes it. We did not open these reports ourselves.

- The judgment does not quote the text of section 28A, so this page gives the conditions as paragraph 10 of the judgment states them.

About the author: [Saurabh Garg](/about)

Saurabh Garg has run the venture studio C4E for twenty years. He founded 66 MG Road in 2026, reads every proposal request, and replies within one business day.

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Information on this page is as on 2026-09-24. Rules, rates, deadlines and government portals change without notice, so verify against the official source before you act. This page is for information only. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified adviser who knows your position.

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