Once an award is passed under the National Highways Act, 1956, the Competent Authority becomes functus officio and lacks jurisdiction to unilaterally review, modify, or alter the determined compensation.

Order on Board

16/04/2026

1. The petitioners have filed this writ petition seeking following reliefs:

“10.1 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to call for the entire record pertaining to the proceedings, for its kind perusal.

10.2 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue an appropriate writ quashing and setting aside the order dated 14.11.2019 in Revenue Case No. 07/A-82/15-16 (Annexure P/2) passed by the Respondent No. 3 holding it to be illegal.

10.3 That, this Hon'ble Court may further kindly be pleased to issue an appropriate writ and direct the Respondents to pay the Compensation amount for the acquisition of the subject land as calculated in the Original Award dated 12.07.2016 (Annexure P/1) by applying the multiplier factor of TWO and to pay the same along with interest as well as penal interest.

10.4 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other relief, along with the cost of petition, as it may deem fit.”

2. Facts of the case, as projected in the petition, are that the petitioners are joint owners of the subject agricultural land bearing Khasra No. 243/2, admeasuring 0.0198 hectare, situated at Village Birejhar, Tahsil Kurud, District Dhamtari. The said land was earlier recorded in the name of one Shiv Kumar, who was the previous owner, and subsequently, upon culmination of civil proceedings, ownership came to be vested in the present petitioners. In the year 2015, the National Highways Authority of India initiated acquisition proceedings for the purpose of widening/extension of National Highway No. 30 (Raipur to Dhamtari stretch from Km 32.230 to 59.230) under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956. In furtherance thereof, notifications under Section 3A were issued and published in the Gazette on 13.03.2015 and in local newspapers on 19.04.2015. Thereafter, declaration under Section 3D(1) was published in the Gazette of India on 08.01.2016, followed by publication under Section 3G(3) in local newspapers on 25.01.2016 and 26.01.2016. Ultimately, the Competent Authority passed an award dated 12.07.2016 determining compensation for the acquired land. While passing the original award dated 12.07.2016, the Competent Authority applied a multiplier factor of two for rural areas in accordance with the notification dated 09.02.2016 issued by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Consequently, compensation for the petitioners’ land was assessed at Rs. 16,26,768/-. However, due to pendency of a civil dispute between the previous owner Shiv Kumar and the present petitioners, the compensation amount was not disbursed at that time. Subsequently, in the year 2019, the civil suit was decided in favour of the petitioners, and their names were duly mutated in the revenue records. Thereafter, the petitioners approached the authorities seeking release of compensation along with applicable interest. However, instead of releasing the awarded amount, the Competent Authority passed a fresh order dated 14.11.2019, whereby the compensation was re-determined by applying a multiplier factor of one, purportedly in light of a State Government circular dated 25.05.2017. As a result, the compensation amount was drastically reduced to Rs. 8,44,668/-, almost half of the originally determined amount, without affording any notice or opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. It is further the case that an earlier State notification dated 04.12.2014 prescribing multiplier factor of one had already been chall