National Highways Act, 1956

The Tamil Nadu Government issued G.O. Ms. No.32 (1998) permitting the erection of statues and arches on highways. After the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001 came into force, the State, through its Secretary, granted permission to install permanent arches on two major district roads. The High Court held that because the ar…

The Supreme Court was asked to resolve a long‑standing controversy over whether courts exercising jurisdiction under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 can modify an arbitral award. The issue arose from the earlier decision in Project Director, NHAI v. M. Hakeem, where the Court held that …

The Supreme Court examined a batch of writ petitions filed by Hindustan Construction Company Ltd seeking to strike down Section 87 of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the deletion of Section 26 of the 2015 Amendment, arguing that they revived an automatic‑stay of arbitral awards and removed th…

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) acquired land for a highway and the compensation awarded by the competent authority was challenged by Sayedabad Tea Company Ltd. The aggrieved party applied to the Central Government under Section 3G(5) of the National Highways Act, 1956 for the appointment of an arbitrat…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 in 2003, followed by a declaration in 2004 and an award in 2005 for land needed for a road project. The respondents obtained interim stay orders that prevented DDA from taking possession, and later filed a writ petition und…

The appellants were served with show‑cause notices alleging encroachment on land forming part of a National Highway. The notices were issued under Section 28(2)(iii) of the Tamil Nadu State Highway Act, 2001 and were said to be backed by a notification issued under Section 5 of the National Highways Act, 1956. The appe…

The Supreme Court examined a Central Government notification under Section 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956 that sought to acquire land for a highway. The petitioners argued that the notification failed to give a brief description of the land and lacked a plan, rendering it invalid. The Court held that the notific…

The appellant's land was acquired under the National Highways Act, leading to an arbitral award on 25 July 2011. A regular first appeal was filed on 20 October 2011, but the High Court registry notified defects on 9 November 2011, which the appellant's counsel received only on 20 January 2012. Consequently, the appella…

The Supreme Court examined whether Section 3J of the National Highways Act, 1956, which excludes the Land Acquisition Act's provisions on solatium and interest, violates Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court held that solatium is an integral part of compensation for compulsory acquisition and that the 1997 amendmen…

The case concerned compensation disputes arising from the erection of transmission towers and power lines under a 400 kV project that traversed four districts in Haryana. Landowners claimed that the compensation awarded by the District Judges and upheld by the High Court was inadequate, while the contractor sought to l…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of Notification SRO 348 dated 20 August 1982, which imposed an additional toll of Rs 0.06 per kilogram on dry fruits such as almonds, walnuts and kernels exported from Jammu & Kashmir. The petitioners argued that the levy was a fee requiring quid‑pro‑quo and that the State had no…

The appellant, M/s. Soma Isolux NH One Tollway Pvt. Ltd., entered into a BOT concession agreement with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to construct, operate and maintain a six‑laning of NH‑1. The High Court, while entertaining a public‑interest writ, cancelled the concession agreement, imposed heavy fin…

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation claimed it had acquired the land of Bimal Kumar Shah under Section 352 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, which it argued gave it power to acquire land for streets and parks. The High Court held that Section 352 does not confer a power of compulsory acquisition and set asi…

The petitioners, transport operators, challenged the validity of Section 3(3) of the Haryana Passengers and Goods Taxation Act, 1952, which levied a tax on passengers and goods carried on routes partly within Haryana, arguing that it infringed the freedom of inter‑state trade under Article 301 and was not a permissible…

The Supreme Court examined the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, a project to widen about 900 km of national highways in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, which includes three strategic border roads. Environmental groups challenged the project before the National Green Tribunal, leading to the formation of a High Po…

The case arose from a tragic landslide on a National Highway caused by over‑mining and hill‑cutting, which killed a woman and her daughter. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had ordered the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the miner to pay a joint penalty, compensation to the victims' heirs and to fund a…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of notifications issued under Sections 2(2) and 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956 that declared a green‑field stretch (C‑K‑S) as National Highways NH‑179A and NH‑179B and authorised land acquisition for the Chennai‑Krishnagiri‑Salem corridor. The Court held that Parliament, u…

The Supreme Court examined the demolition of Manoj Tibrewal’s ancestral house, which had been declared part of a national‑highway widening project. The State authorities demolished the house after only a public “munadi” announcement, without any written notice, without disclosing the extent of encroachment, the width o…

The State of West Bengal awarded a one‑year franchise to M.R. Mondal for toll collection on a stretch of the Durgapur Expressway, but Mondal defaulted on payments and sought extensions through a memorandum issued by the Joint Secretary. The memorandum purported to allow collection for up to 30 years, and the High Court…

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) filed a miscellaneous application seeking clarification on whether the Supreme Court's 2019 judgment in Union of India v. Tarsem Singh, which mandated payment of solatium and interest to landowners whose land was acquired under the NHAI Act, should operate only prospectiv…

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) sought arbitration under the National Highways Act for compensation relating to land acquisition, resulting in an arbitral award on 03‑02‑2022. Both parties filed applications under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which were dismissed by the arbit…

The appellants purchased residential plots in Bengaluru between 1995 and 1997, which were later acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) under a preliminary notification dated 29 January 2003. Although possession was taken in 2005, no compensation award was made until a Special Land Acquisit…