Allahabad High Court
PRABHA GOYAL AND ANOTHERversusSTATE OF U.P. AND 3 OTHERS
- Decided
Holding
The supplementary award is quashed insofar as it affects the petitioners because the mandatory notice under Section 3‑G(3) of the National Highways Act, 1956 was not issued.
Summary
The petitioners, recorded tenure holders of two small plots in Deoria, challenged a supplementary award dated 20‑07‑2024 that determined compensation for land acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956. They contended that the award was passed without the mandatory notice required by Section 3‑G(3) of the Act. The respondent, National Highways Authority of India, conceded that the notice had not been published. Relying on the precedent set in Writ‑C No. 7723 of 2025 (Manoj Kumar Baranwal et al. v. State of U.P. et al.), the Court held that the lack of notice rendered the award invalid as to the petitioners. Consequently, the Court quashed the supplementary award to the extent it affected the petitioners and directed that they be allowed to file objections to the compensation. The writ petition was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether the supplementary award dated 20‑07‑2024 is valid in the absence of the mandatory notice under Section 3‑G(3) of the National Highways Act, 1956.
- Whether the petitioners are entitled to file objections to the compensation determination after the award is quashed.
Legislation cited
- National Highways Act, 1956 — s. 3-G(3)
Subjects
- land acquisition
- compensation
- notice requirement
- National Highways Act
- supplementary award
- quashing
- writ petition
- certiorari
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - C No. - 34776 of 2026
Prabha Goyal And Another
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
State Of U.P. And 3 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Mahesh Narain Singh
Counsel for Respondent(s) : Pranjal Mehrotra, A.S.G.I., C.S.C.
Court No. - 29
HON'BLE SIDDHARTHA VARMA, J.
HON'BLE KUNAL RAVI SINGH, J.
1. Short counter affidavit filed today is taken on record.
2. We have heard Shri Mahesh Narain Singh, learned counsel for the
petitioners, Shri Pranjal Mehrotra, learned counsel for respondent No. 4-
National Highway Authority of India, and the learned Standing Counsel for
respondent Nos. 1 to 3.
3. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioners praying for a writ,
order, or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the supplementary
award dated 20.07.2024 passed by the Additional District Magistrate
(Administration)/Competent Authority (Land Acquisition), National
Highways 727-A, Deoria Bypass, District Deoria, under Section 3-G of the
National Highways Act, 1956, in Case No. 24 of 2024, insofar as it relates to
the petitioners.
4. Petitioner No. 1 is the recorded tenure holder of an area of 0.0088 hectare
of Plot No. 83, and petitioner No. 2 is the recorded tenure holder of an area
of 0.0355 hectare of Plot No. 83, situated in Village Barari, Tappa Gabarai,
Salempur Majhauli, Tehsil and District Deoria, with their names duly
recorded in the Khatauni for the fasli years 1428–1433. After their land was
acquired under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956, the
determination of compensation was required to be made.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the entire determination
was conducted without any definite notice under Section 3-G(3) of the
WRIC No. 34776 of 2026
2
National Highways Act, 1956. Learned counsel for the petitioners, therefore,
prays that the compensation awarded by the supplementary award dated
20.07.2024, insofar as it affects the petitioners, be quashed, and the
petitioners be granted an opportunity to file objections with regard to the
compensation, etc. In support of his submissions, he has relied upon the
judgment of this Court in Writ-C No. 7723 of 2025 (Manoj Kumar Baranwal
and 4 others vs. State of U.P. and 3 others),decided on 14th July, 2026.
6. Shri Pranjal Mehrotra, learned counsel appearing for the National
Highways Authority of India, after having filed a short counter-affidavit, has
fairly conceded to the extent that the mandatory notice under Section 3-G(3)
of the Act was not published.
7. That being the position, we are definitively of the view that the
supplementary award dated 20.07.2024 is liable to be quashed to the extent it
concerns the petitioners, and is hereby quashed. Respondent No. 3 shall now
permit the petitioners to file objections with regard to the compensation
which has been determined or paid. The filing of objections, and the
subsequent consideration and decision thereupon, shall be governed by
paragraphs 45, 46, and 47 of the decision dated 14th July, 2026, passed in
Writ-C No. 7723 of 2025 (Manoj Kumar Baranwal and 4 others vs. State of
U.P. and 3 others).
8. Accordingly, the writ petition stands allowed.
(Kunal Ravi Singh,J.) (Siddhartha Varma,J.)
September 17, 2026
Sumaira
Digitally signed by :-
SUMAIRA AQUIL
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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