Question

Under the law relating to land acquisition under the relevant laws in India, which of the following statements is not true?

• A. Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued.
• B. All persons interested in the land in question shall appear personally before the Collector.
• C. A minimum notice period of 30 days is to be given to all the persons interested.
• D. The Collector shall publish the public notice on his website.

Hint:

In procedural law questions, always remember the statutory timelines. Examiners frequently modify the actual time period to create an incorrect option.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 was enacted to ensure fairness and transparency in the acquisition of land by the Government. The Act provides detailed procedures regarding publication of notices, filing of objections, hearing of affected persons, and payment of compensation. One of the important objectives of the Act is to provide affected landowners an opportunity to raise objections before acquisition proceedings are finalized.

Step 1: Understanding the procedure of land acquisition.
Whenever land is proposed to be acquired, a preliminary notification is issued by the competent authority. After publication of the notification: Interested persons are given an opportunity to file objections. These objections are then considered by the Collector before further action is taken.

Step 2: Examining the time limit for objections.
The law does not grant a period of six months for filing objections. The objection period prescribed under the acquisition process is considerably shorter and is generally measured in days rather than months. Therefore, the statement that objections may be filed within six months is inconsistent with the statutory framework.

Step 3: Identifying the incorrect statement.
Options (B), (C), and (D) relate to procedural safeguards intended to ensure transparency and participation of affected persons. However, option (A) incorrectly mentions a six-month objection period. Hence, \[ \boxed{\text{Option (A) is the statement which is not true}} \]

Answer 2

The question asks which statement about the land acquisition process is incorrect. Since all four statements describe procedural safeguards under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, each option needs to be checked against the actual text of Section 21 and the surrounding provisions rather than assumed correct.

1. Option A (objections within 6 months): Under Section 15 of the 2013 Act, a person interested in land who objects to the area or suitability of the land proposed for acquisition, or to the justification offered for public purpose, may file such objections within sixty days from the date of the preliminary notification under Section 11. Sixty days is roughly two months, not six months, so a statement claiming a six-month window overstates the actual limitation period several times over, which makes this option factually incorrect.
2. Option B (personal appearance before the Collector): Section 21 requires the Collector to give public notice inviting all persons interested in the land to appear before him in person, or through a duly authorised representative, at a time and place named in the notice, to state the nature of their respective interests and their claims to compensation. This accurately describes the statutory requirement.
3. Option C (minimum notice period of 30 days): Section 21 fixes the minimum interval between the date of the public notice and the hearing at not less than thirty days, matching the statute exactly.
4. Option D (publication on the website): Section 21(2) requires the notice to be published in local newspapers, at convenient public places, and on the website of the appropriate government or the Collector, in addition to being communicated in the local language. Publishing on the website is a genuine statutory requirement.

Only Option A misstates the actual timeframe prescribed by law; Options B, C and D each track a real requirement under Section 21. That makes Option A the statement that is not true.

Hence, the correct answer is Option A: Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued.