Union Of India (Uoi) And Anr. vs Hansoli Devi And Ors.

The Supreme Court examined the interpretation of Section 28-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, specifically regarding the eligibility of landowners to claim compensation based on awards granted to other landowners. The central legal issue was whether the dismissal of an application for reference under Section 18 due to delay is equivalent to 'not having filed an application' for the purposes of Section 28-A. The court sought to determine if persons whose applications were rejected on technical grounds of limitation could still avail themselves of the benefit of subsequent awards.