No Right to Employment for Landowners Under Land Acquisition Act, 1894: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court held that landowners have no right to employment in exchange for land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, as the Act provides only for monetary compensation.

The Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale dismissed a plea by a petitioner seeking a government job nearly three decades after acquisition, noting that payment of compensation fully satisfies the State’s obligation.

The Court further clarified that any administrative policy offering jobs to displaced families cannot override the statutory framework. Finding the claim legally untenable and time-barred, the Court upheld the High Court’s dismissal of the plea.

[Sanjeev Kumar v State of Haryana & Ors]