Case Note & Summary
The Supreme Court addressed a dispute concerning the computation of statutory benefits—solatium, interest, and interest on solatium—for land acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956. The appellant landowner challenged the applicability of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 instead of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The core question was whether the cutoff date of 01.01.2015, when the 2013 Act was extended to NH Act acquisitions, governed benefits for an award passed on 11.07.2014 by the Competent Authority. The respondent National Highway Authority of India contended that the 2013 Act applied only from 01.01.2015, and because the award predated that date, computation had to follow the 1894 Act. The appellant relied on Tarsem Singh-II to argue that no differentiation should exist between acquisitions on 31.12.2014 and 01.01.2015, and alternatively that the arbitrator's award dated 17.05.2017, after 01.01.2015, should trigger the 2013 Act. The court examined the legislative history: Section 3J of the NH Act, inserted in 1997, made the 1894 Act inapplicable to NH Act acquisitions and was struck down as unconstitutional in Tarsem Singh-I. The 2013 Act initially excluded specified enactments like the NH Act from its compensation provisions, but Ordinance 9 of 2014 amended Section 105(3) to apply those provisions to NH Act acquisitions with effect from 01.01.2015. The court held that the benefit of solatium and interest is available to all landowners whose lands were acquired under the NH Act, but the statute for computing those benefits depends on the date of the Competent Authority's award. If the award was passed before 01.01.2015, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 applies; if on or after that date, the 2013 Act applies. The court noted that Tarsem Singh-II did not lay down that pre-01.01.2015 awards must be computed under the 2013 Act; it only prevented prospective application to avoid hostile discrimination between similarly situated landowners. Since the award in this case was passed on 11.07.2014, before the cutoff, the appellant was not entitled to computation under the 2013 Act, and the arbitral award date of 17.05.2017 did not alter this. The court thus held that the Competent Authority's award date governs the applicable statute, thereby resolving the issue in favour of the National Highway Authority of India.
Headnote
A) Land Acquisition - Compensation and Benefits - Solatium and Interest - National Highways Act, 1956, Sections 3G(7), 3H(5); Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Section 28; Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, Section 105 - The court considered whether solatium, interest and interest on solatium for acquisitions under the NH Act must be computed under the Act of 1894 or the Act of 2013 - It held that the applicable statute depends on the date of the Competent Authority's award: if before 01.01.2015, benefits under the Act of 1894; if after, under the Act of 2013 - Since the award in this case was passed on 11.07.2014, the appellant was entitled to computation under the Act of 1894, not the Act of 2013, regardless of the arbitrator's award dated 17.05.2017 (Paras 13-14). B) Constitutional Law - Article 14 - Equality and Non-Discrimination - National Highways Act, 1956, Section 3J - Section 3J, which made the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 inapplicable to NH Act acquisitions, was declared unconstitutional in Tarsem Singh-I for violating Article 14 - The court in this case reiterated that striking down Section 3J was to ensure solatium and interest benefits across all acquisition years, not to specify the computation statute for pre-2015 awards (Paras 6-7, 12). C) Statutory Interpretation - Retrospective Application of Amending Ordinance - Section 105(3) of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, as amended by Ordinance 9 of 2014 - The Ordinance made compensation provisions of the Act of 2013 applicable to specified enactments including the NH Act with effect from 01.01.2015, not from the Act's commencement date of 01.01.2014 - The court held that prior to 01.01.2015, compensation benefits under NH Act acquisitions had to be computed under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and Tarsem Singh-II did not mandate otherwise (Paras 9-13). D) Precedent - Binding Effect and Distinction of Tarsem Singh Decisions - Tarsem Singh-I ((2019) 9 SCC 304), Tarsem Singh-II (2025 SCC OnLine SC 235), Tarsem Singh-III (2026 SCC OnLine SC 481) - Tarsem Singh-II declined prospective application to avoid hostile discrimination but did not hold that pre-01.01.2015 awards must be computed under the Act of 2013 - The court distinguished all three decisions and held the present issue was res integra, as Tarsem Singh-III only concerned proceedings attaining finality (Para 12). E) Arbitration - Date of Arbitral Award - Relevance to Compensation Statute - National Highways Act, 1956, Section 3G(7); Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - The appellant argued that because the arbitral award was passed on 17.05.2017 after 01.01.2015, the Act of 2013 should apply even if the Competent Authority award was before that date - The court rejected this by holding that the determinative date is the Competent Authority's award under the NH Act, not the subsequent arbitral award (Paras 5, 13-14).
Issue of Consideration
Whether solatium, interest and interest on solatium for land acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956 are to be computed under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 or the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 when the Competent Authority's award was passed before 01.01.2015.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court held that the applicable statute for computing solatium, interest and interest on solatium under the National Highways Act, 1956 is determined by the date of the award passed by the Competent Authority. Since the award in this case was passed on 11.07.2014, before 01.01.2015, the benefits must be computed under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and not under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013; the subsequent arbitral award dated 17.05.2017 did not change this result.
Law Points
- Solatium
- interest and interest on solatium under NH Act depend on date of Competent Authority award
- Pre-01.01.2015 awards compute under Land Acquisition Act
- 1894
- Post-01.01.2015 awards compute under Right to Fair Compensation Act
- 2013
- Section 3J NH Act unconstitutional
- Tarsem Singh-II does not direct retrospective computation under Act of 2013
- Entitlement to solatium and interest exists for all NH Act acquisitions
