India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to review its ruling granting solatium and interest to landowners under the National Highways Act. The court set a cut-off date of March 28, 2008. It dismissed NHAI’s plea despite a ₹29,000-crore liability.
New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Wednesday dismissed the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) review petition. The court upheld its 2019 judgment and February 4, 2025 order, affirming landowners’ entitlement to solatium and interest under the National Highways Act, 1956, despite acquisitions under this special regime. The judgment, authored by the CJI, stated that financial implications of ₹29,000 crore cannot override the constitutional right to just compensation. NHAI had revised its liability estimate upward from an earlier lower figure due to a clerical error, but the court ruled that such escalation does not warrant review. It referenced the 2019 Union of India vs Tarsem Singh ruling, which neutralised Section 3J of the Act for denying these benefits. Landowners whose lands were acquired between 1997 and 2015 qualify for parity with the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the 2013 regime. The bench set March 28, 2008—the date of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Golden Iron & Steel Forgings judgment—as the cut-off. Only claims alive on or after this date before authorities, arbitrators, or courts are eligible for solatium, interest, and interest on solatium. Delayed claims accrue interest only from the date filed. Claims finalised before March 28, 2008, cannot be reopened. The court set aside certain high court orders, remanding them for recalculation, and barred recovery of amounts already paid.