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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 23, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Thursday suggested the government amends the National Highways Act, 1956, and allows only judicially trained minds to adjudicate land acquisition compensation cases and not bureaucrats. "The procedure under the principal land acquisition law ensures that the determination of compensation, which is purely a judicial exercise, is undertaken by a judicially trained mind. This (National Highways Act) is the only enactment where an exception has been carved out and bureaucrats have been vested with this role. Prima facie, that is not acceptable to us," said a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

 

The top court said the landowners face a systematic disadvantage when the proceedings are conducted under the 1956 Act. The lands adjoining national highways typically command higher market values, said the court. There have been cases where farmers were denied solatium and interest under the National Highways Act until the apex court intervened, it said.

 

Under the ordinary land acquisition law, although the land acquisition collector is a civil servant, there is a judicial forum where compensation can be determined by a judicially trained mind, said the court. However, under the National Highways Act, that safeguard is completely absent, it said.  

 

Attorney General for India R. Venkataramani said a proposal to amend the 1956 Act is under active consideration, so that such compensation disputes are decided by a judicially trained forum. "We are only proposing the amendment. If the government is examining the issue, we would welcome that. Why should we decide the issue, prima facie or finally, if there is a possibility of an appropriate legislative process? We can wait for some time," said the court.

 

In March, the Supreme Court had rejected a review plea by the National Highways Authority of India, seeking prospective application of a 2019 verdict to grant solatium and interest to all landowners whose land was acquired for highway development. The court rejected NHAI's argument that retrospective application would result in an additional financial burden of about INR 290 billion. This means landowners who were not given solatium and interest when their land was acquired by the highways authority from 1997 to 2015 due to an amendment in the law, can now get the same. 

 

The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas from a Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict that declared Section 3G and Section 3J of the 1956 Act as unconstitutional. These provisions were used to determine compensation through arbitration when landowners disputed the awarded amount.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by

 

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