ORDER

SURYA KANT, J.

1. The instant Miscellaneous Application, filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through its Project Director, seeks clarification regarding the judgment dated 19.09.2019, passed in Civil Appeal No. 7064 of 2019, titled Union of India & Anr. v. Tarsem Singh & Ors, (2019) 9 SCC 304 to the extent that the aforementioned judgment is to be applied prospectively, thereby precluding the reopening of cases where land acquisition proceedings have already been completed and the determination of compensation had also attained finality.

2. This Miscellaneous Application is tagged with several appeals filed by the NHAI challenging the decisions of various High Courts at the instance of private parties, wherein relief has been granted relying on the judgment dated 19.09.2019. The High Courts vide these decisions have either (i) awarded ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ to the expropriated landowners; or (ii) directed the Competent Authority (Land Acquisition, National Highways) to consider and decide representations made by the landowners for the grant of ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ in light of the aforementioned judgment of this Court. This also includes SLP (C) No. 14942/2019 titled ‘K. Raju and others v. The Project Director, National Highways Authority of India and others’, which has been preferred by a private party assailing the decision of the Madras High Court dated 01.04.2019, whereby the relief of ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ was directed to be raised before the Competent Authority.

3. Additionally, SLP (C) Diary No. 52538/2023 titled ‘Raj Kumar and another v. Union of India and others’, has been preferred by a private party whose lands were acquired by NHAI. In this instance, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected their claim for the award of ‘Additional Market Value’ relying upon its decision in National Highway Authority of India v. Resham Singh, 2023:PHHC:053158-DB whereby the landowners were held entitled to ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’, but their claim for the grant of ‘Additional Market Value’ was declined. These benefits were granted / partly declined in terms of Sections 23(2) and 28 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act), which were read into the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956 (NHAI Act).

A. BRIEF LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND

4. At this juncture, it is pertinent to briefly delve into the legislative background of Section 3J of the NHAI Act vis-à-vis the 1894 Act and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act).

5. The erstwhile 1894 Act facilitated the acquisition of land by the Government for public purposes, outlining a process that included the identification of land, issuance of a notification announcing the intent to acquire, followed by inquiries and hearings to determine the compensation payable to landowners. Additionally, the 1894 Act provided for the grant of ‘solatium’ and ‘interest’ under Sections 23 and 28. For a considerable period, the NHAI Act operated alongside the 1894 Act, with its provisions being pari materia to those of the latter.

6. Be that as it may, Section 3J of the NHAI Act has been fraught with controversy from its very inception. Section 3J, along with several other provisions, were inserted into the NHAI Act vide the National Highways Laws (Amendment) Act, 1997 (1997 Amendment), with the objective of ‘creating an environment to promote private investment in National Highways, to speed up construction of highways and to remove bottlenecks in their proper management’. In this regard, one of the impediments to the speedy implementation of highway projects was recognised to be the inordinate delay in the acquisition of land.

7. Accordingly, the NHAI Act was amended, with a number of measures undertaken to accelerate the procedure of acquisition, whereby a determination of compensation would be made by the Competent Authority, and if not accepted by either party, it would then be d