Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking employment in lieu of land acquired nearly three decades ago, holding that the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 does not provide for any such right and that payment of compensation fully satisfies the State's obligation.

A Bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B Varale was hearing a special leave petition filed by an individual whose family land had been acquired in 1998 under the Land Acquisition Act. The petitioner, who was not even born at the time of acquisition, had in 2025 sought appointment in government service on compassionate grounds, claiming it as a right flowing from the acquisition.

Rejecting the plea, the Court observed that the family had already received compensation as per law, and the Act envisages no provision for providing employment in lieu of acquired land. “Under the provisions of the Act, on the land being acquired, the petitioner or his family is entitled only to the compensation which has already been paid. There is no provision for grant of job in lieu of the acquired land,” the Bench stated.

The Court also noted that even if there existed a policy at any point providing for employment to affected families, such an administrative policy could not override the statutory scheme of the Land Acquisition Act. Moreover, the petitioner's claim was made after more than 18 years of the formulation of such a policy, making it untenable.

Finding no error or illegality in the orders of the authorities and the High Court which had earlier rejected the petitioner's plea, the Supreme Court dismissed the special leave petition.

Case Title: Sanjeev Kumar v State of Haryana and others

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 1079

Click here to read the order