Property buyer cannot claim damages

The Calcutta High Court stated last week that if work on the Metro Railway causes any damage or injury to any land or building, it is the person having subsisting interest in such land or building at the relevant time who can claim compensation from the Metro Railway Authority. A person who bought the property from the original owner cannot claim compensation. The case arose when a multi-storey building on Chittaranjan Avenue was damaged while constructing the Metro Railway. The original owner filed a claim for damages and it was pending. Later the property was purchased by a firm. It wanted to stand in the shoes of the original owner and claim damages. The competent authority allowed it stating that any person interested in the property can claim damages, whether original or proposed. The original owner might have received a low consideration and the new one might have spent money on the reconstruction of the property. The Metro Railway moved the high court in appeal against it. It reversed the ruling in the judgment, Union of India vs SAF Builders Ltd observing that a claim for damages cannot be assigned to another party.