Question

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

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

Hint:

For land acquisition under the 2013 Act, remember: 60 days for objections. If an option states "6 months," it is almost certainly the incorrect statement!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Since the question wants the one false statement among four, the quickest approach is to check the option with the most specific number first, since exact figures are the easiest to verify against the statute.

1. A minimum notice period of 30 days is to be given to all the persons interested: This matches the fair procedure the 2013 Land Acquisition Act follows, giving people enough time to know about the proposed acquisition before objecting.
2. All persons interested in the land in question shall appear personally before the Collector: This is also how the process actually works, since the Collector hears objecting parties in person before deciding how to proceed.
3. The Collector shall publish the public notice on his website: This too is correct, as online publication of the notice is one of the modes the Act requires so that the notification reaches a wider audience.
4. Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued: Here is the mismatch. Section 15 of the 2013 Act fixes the objection window at sixty days from the preliminary notification, nowhere close to six months. Since this figure is wrong, this statement is the false one.

Three statements hold up against the Act and one does not, which settles the question.

The correct answer, the statement that is not true, is Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued.

Answer 2

Section 15 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 fixes a strict sixty day window, running from the date of the preliminary notification, within which any person interested in the land may object to the acquisition. Keeping this figure in mind resolves the question quickly.

1. Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued: This directly contradicts the sixty day window fixed by Section 15. A period of six months is far longer than what the Act allows, making this the incorrect statement among the four.
2. The Collector shall publish the public notice on his website: Correct, since digital publication alongside physical and local publication is part of how the preliminary notification is disseminated under the Act.
3. All persons interested in the land in question shall appear personally before the Collector: Correct, as personal appearance before the Collector is how objections are actually heard and recorded.
4. A minimum notice period of 30 days is to be given to all the persons interested: Correct, since this reflects the baseline notice period built into the fair procedure the Act follows.

Measured against the actual sixty day rule in Section 15, only the six month claim fails to hold up.

The correct answer is Such interested persons may file objections within 6 months of the notice having been issued.