State Cannot Violate Rights of Rural Citizens Merely Due to Their Illiteracy or Inability to Approach Courts: Bombay High Court

In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that the Maharashtra Government cannot deny compensation to landowners merely because they delayed approaching the court. The land in question was taken for the Dudhganga Irrigation Project in Kolhapur district way back in September 1990, but no compensation was ever paid, and no award under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was published. The court ruled that the right to compensation…