SC Agrees to Hear NHAI’s Plea in Open Court Seeking Review of ₹32,000 Crore Land Compensation Ruling
SC to hear NHAI’s review plea in open court on retrospective land compensation ruling under the National Highways Act
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear in open court the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) plea seeking a review of its earlier verdict applying the 2019 land compensation ruling retrospectively.
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice on the review petition and listed the matter for hearing on November 11.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the NHAI, informed the court that the matter carried far-reaching financial implications, around ₹32,000 crore, not ₹100 crore as initially mentioned.
“Issue notice, returnable on November 11, 2025, at 3 PM,” the Bench ordered.
Earlier, on February 4, the Apex Court had dismissed NHAI’s plea, holding that its 2019 judgment, which allowed payment of compensation and interest to farmers whose land was acquired under the NHAI Act, would apply retrospectively.
The NHAI had sought to limit the applicability of that ruling to future cases, arguing that retrospective application would reopen settled compensation determinations under the National Highways Act.
Rejecting that plea, the Supreme Court had reaffirmed the principles laid down in Tarsem Singh (2019), holding that denying solatium and interest to landowners under Section 3J of the NHAI Act violated Article 14 of the Constitution. The court had also reasoned that making the 2019 decision prospective would defeat its very objective of ensuring parity and fairness to affected landowners.
Examining the issue of whether the judgment is to be applied prospectively or retrospectively, the bench said, "When a provision is declared unconstitutional, any continued disparity strikes at the core of Article 14 of the Constitution and must be rectified, particularly when such disparity affects only a select group."