Highway land compensation awards before 2015 get interest under the old 1894 Act

This case addresses a vital dispute for landowners whose properties were acquired by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The central legal question was whether additional compensation benefits—specifically solatium (extra money given for compulsory acquisition), interest, and interest on solatium—should be calculated using the rates from the old Land Acquisition Act of 1894 or the more generous Right to Fair Compensation Act of 2013. Under the 2013 Act, the benefits became applicable to highway acquisitions only from January 1, 2015, through government ordinances and notifications. In this specific case, the government started acquiring the appellant's land in Jabalpur in 2011. The local competent authority passed the final compensation order (called an 'award') on July 11, 2014, and the landowner received his initial payment in October 2014. Since he was unhappy with the amount, the dispute was referred to an arbitrator, who revised the amount in 2016. The landowner argued that since the arbitrator's decision came after 2015, he should get the higher benefits of the 2013 Act. However, the Supreme Court clarified that the crucial date to check is when the primary compensation award was first declared by the competent authority. Since that initial award was passed on July 11, 2014 (which is before the cutoff date of January 1, 2015), the old 1894 Act must be used to calculate the solatium and interest. The Court sent the case back to the local authority to calculate and pay these extra amounts to the landowner using the old 1894 Act rules, ensuring he receives all his legal dues.

The government acquired the appellant's land in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, for a national highway project starting in 2011. The Competent Authority declared the official compensation award on July 11, 2014, before the new 2013 Land Acquisition Act was officially extended to highway acquisitions on January 1, 2015.

The Supreme Court ordered that because the initial compensation award was passed before January 1, 2015, the landowner is entitled to solatium and interest, but they must be calculated under the old 1894 Act. The Court sent the case back to the local authority to compute and pay these amounts.

This judgment clarifies which law applies to highway land acquisitions that straddle the transition period between the old 1894 Act and the new 2013 Act. It protects landowners' rights to receive interest and solatium, while setting a clear cutoff date based on the original award.