In Brief
A batch of appeals by the Union of India challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court's decision that Section 3J of the National Highways Act, 1956—which excludes solatium and interest otherwise payable under the Land Acquisition Act—violates Article 14 (equal protection). The Supreme Court upheld the High Court, holding that denying solatium and interest to landowners whose property is acquired for national highways, while granting them to landowners whose property is acquired for other public purposes, constitutes unjustifiable discrimination. The Court reasoned that solatium is compensation for the compulsory nature of acquisition, not the statutory basis for acquisition, and the 1997 Amendment Act's object (expediting acquisition) does not require exclusion of solatium. The appeals were dismissed; solatium and interest under the Land Acquisition Act now apply to National Highways acquisitions."
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