Pendency third-party special leave petitions irrelevant untainted land owner compensation

The pendency of Special Leave Petitions filed by collusive land owners challenging criminal or civil proceedings does not warrant deferring claims of untainted land owners. Where an acquisition award involves hundreds of individual land owners, independent judicial review must proceed for untainted parties regardless of pending litigation concerning collusive beneficiaries. Courts cannot keep in abeyance legitimate compensation claims of untainted land owners merely because proceedings regarding collusive overvaluation remain pending before higher judicial forums. The legal outcome of challenges mounted by parties specifically investigated for fraud or unjust enrichment holds no direct bearing on non-party land owners. Unrelated land owners against whom no inquiry reports or criminal proceedings exist are entitled to immediate enforcement of their final awards. Delaying statutory compensation disbursements to untainted land owners on account of third-party litigation creates grave injustice and violates constitutional property protection principles. Therefore, judicial evaluation of an untainted land owner's award must proceed independently without awaiting outcomes in separate, party-specific special leave petitions. (Niraj Jain v. Competent Authority-cum-Additional Collector, Jagdalpur & Ors. | 2026 INSC 86)