Land acquisition limitation under Section 11A excludes only court-stay periods; time for judgment copy does not extend the award deadline.

Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 requires the Collector to make an award within two years from publication of the Section 6 declaration, and only the period during which the acquisition proceedings are stayed by a court is excluded from that computation. The time taken to obtain a copy of the appellate judgment does not extend the statutory period, because it is not a permitted exclusion under the provision. The text also notes that a later Constitution Bench ruling on Section 11A did not affect a writ petition already pending, and that a prompt challenge after the award could not be rejected for delay.

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Issues: Whether the acquisition of the appellant's land had lapsed because the award was not made within two years from the publication of the declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and whether the time taken for supply of a copy of the appellate judgment could extend that period.

Analysis: Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 requires the Collector to make an award within two years from the date of publication of the declaration, failing which the acquisition proceedings lapse. The explanation excludes only the period during which action or proceedings are stayed by a court. Once the stay ceases, the statutory clock resumes. The provision does not contemplate extension of time until the judgment copy is supplied. The period taken for obtaining a copy is a fortuitous factor and cannot enlarge the limitation prescribed by the statute. The later Constitution Bench ruling on the scope of Section 11A did not assist the respondents because the appellant's writ petition challenging lapse was already pending when that ruling was delivered. The challenge was also not liable to be rejected on the ground of delay, since the writ petition was filed immediately after the award.

Conclusion: The acquisition had lapsed for failure to make the award within the statutory period, and the appellant succeeds on the issue.

Final Conclusion: The impugned judgment was set aside and the order of the learned Single Judge declaring lapse of the acquisition was restored.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, only the period during which acquisition proceedings remain stayed by a court is excluded in computing the two-year limit for making the award, and the period taken for supply of a judgment copy cannot extend that statutory period.

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