In Brief
The National Highways Authority of India sought clarification that its earlier judgment (Tarsem Singh, 2019)—which established that solatium and interest must be paid to landowners whose land was acquired between 1997 and 2015—should apply only prospectively. The Supreme Court rejected this request, holding that the judgment operates retrospectively. The Court reasoned that applying it only from 2019 would create unjust discrimination between similarly situated landowners based solely on the date of acquisition. Since Section 3J of the National Highways Act (which denied these benefits) was unconstitutional, the gap must be remedied. The Court emphasized that granting statutory compensation benefits does not reopen concluded cases but rectifies past unconstitutional denial, consistent with Article 14 equality principles.
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