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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI, ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Manish Choudhury, J.
Dilip Kumar Jallan And Anr S/o Late Pushraj Jallan - Appellant
Vs.
The Union Of India And Ors. - Respondent
WP(C) No. 6828, 6841, 6830 of 2023
Decided On : 08-12-2023
Land Acquisition - National Highways Act - Section 3A, 3D, 3G[1], 3G[5]
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners' lands were acquired for the construction of a national highway. After the acquisition, the Competent Authority Land Acquisition (CALA) passed awards for compensation. The petitioners sought enhancement of the compensation amounts under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act. However, the offices of the Divisional Commissioners were abolished, and no arbitrator was appointed by the Central Government.
Finding of the Court:
The court directed the respondent authorities to appoint an arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act within six weeks and transmit the records of the cases to the arbitrator within four weeks from the date of appointment. The arbitrator was instructed to consider and dispose of the applications expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of receiving the records.
Issues: The main issue was the non-appointment of an arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act after the abolition of the offices of the Divisional Commissioners.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the precedent that the Central Government has the exclusive power to appoint an arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act. It emphasized that if the Central Government fails to appoint an arbitrator within a reasonable time, the remedy is a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Final Decision: The court directed the respondent authorities to appoint an arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act within six weeks and instructed the arbitrator to consider and dispose of the applications expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of receiving the records.
JUDGMENT
Heard Mr. A.K. Rai, learned counsel for the petitioners; Ms. R. Bora, learned counsel representing the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways [MoRTH], Government of India [GoI] & the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited [NHIDCL] for the respondent nos. 1, 2 & 3; and Mr. P. Nayak, learned Standing Counsel, General Administration Department [GAD] for the respondent nos. 4 & 5.
2. As the issue involved in these 3 [three] writ petitions is same and the contesting parties are also same, all the 3 [three] writ petitions are taken up for disposal at the motion stage itself, at the request of the learned counsel for the parties considering the nature of the issue involved.
3. For the purpose of rehabilitation and upgradation of Dergaon Town Section of National Highway no. 37 from KM 426.800 to KM 437.400 to 4-Lane in the State of Assam on Engineering, Procurement and Construction [EPC] basis, a land acquisition process on permanent basis was initiated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways [MoRTH], Government of India [GoI] under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956. The process was initiated with a number of Notifications including Corrigenda, issued and published in the year 2020 under Section 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956. After following the procedures prescribed under the National Highways Act, 1956, the Notifications required to be published under Section 3D of the National Highways Act, 1956 had also been issued and published. With the issuance and publication of the declaration under Section 3D, the acquired land vested absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances. The possession of the parcels of land so acquired, have also been taken over by the Central Government and the Competent Authority – Land Acquisition [CALA], appointed under Section 3[a] of the National Highways Act, 1956 has also passed Awards under Section 3G[1] of the National Highways Act, 1956 in favour of the persons whose lands have been so acquired.
4. The two petitioners in the writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 6828/2023 were owners of a parcel of land measuring 1 Katha 17 Lessas, covered by Dag no. 2962 & K.P. Patta no. 760, situate at Village – Dergaon Town, Mouza – Dergaon, Dergaon Revenue Circle, District – Golaghat [‘the Subject-Plot no. 1’, for short] and out of the Subject-Plot no. 1, an area of 5 Lessas has been acquired by the respondent authorities for the said National Highway project. The CALA has thereafter, passed Awards, dated 27.10.2021 & dated 21.05.2022, towards compensation for land and zirat respectively under Section 3G[1] of the National Highways Act, 1956 whereby the petitioners have awarded an amount as compensation.
4.1. The petitioner in the writ petition, W.P[C] no. 6830/2023, was the owner of parcels of land under two different Dags viz. Dag nos. 2965 & 2966 within K.P. Patta no. 762, situated at Village – Dergaon Town, Mouza – Dergaon, Dergaon Revenue Circle, District – Golaghat [‘the Subject-Plot no. 2’, for short]. Parts of the Subject-Plot no. 2 have also been acquired by the respondent authorities for the said National Highway project. After issuance and publication of Notifications under Section 3A and Section 3D of the National Highways Act, 1956, the CALA has passed an Award dated 27.10.2021 and a Supplementary Award dated 21.05.2022 towards compensation for acquisition of land and toward zirat respectively under Section 3G[1] of the National Highways Act, 1956 whereby the petitioner has been awarded an amount as compensation.
4.2. The petitioner in the writ petition, W.P.[C] no. 6841/2023 was the owner of parcels of land under two different Dags viz. Dag nos. 2967 & 2968 within K.P. Patta no. 763, situate at Village – Dergaon Town, Mouza – Golaghat, Dergaon Revenue Circle, District – Golaghat, Assam [‘the Subject-Plot no. 3’, for short]. Parts of the Subject-Plot no. 3 has also been acquired by the respondent authorities for the said National Hi
The Central Government has the exclusive power to appoint an arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the National Highways Act, and failure to do so within a reasonable time can be remedied through a writ ....
The court ruled that claims of discrimination in land acquisition compensation must be supported by substantial evidence, and that statutory remedies must be exhausted before seeking judicial relief.
Section 3(G) of Act read as determination of amount payable as compensation.
Arbitrator under Section 3G(5) of National Highways Act lacks power to remand compensation disputes to competent authority; must determine amount independently.
The court clarified that under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act, the scope of review is limited to setting aside awards for patent illegality or public policy violations, not for modification.
The District Collector exceeded jurisdiction by directing redetermination of compensation under the National Highways Act, as awards were already made prior to the 2013 Act's applicability.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of following statutory procedures and respecting the orders of the constitutional courts in land acquisition matters under the Natio....
The National Highways Act, 1956 exclusively empowers the Central Government to appoint an arbitrator for determining compensation disputes, overriding general arbitration provisions.
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