In a significant ruling delivered today, 25 March 2026, the Supreme Court of India has provided much-needed clarity on landowners’ entitlement to solatium (additional compensation) and interest in cases where land was acquired for national highways between 1997 and 2015. The judgment, authored by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan in National Highways Authority of India v. Tarsem Singh & Ors., disposes of a Review Petition filed by NHAI while also resolving several tagged Special Leave Petitions.
The dispute traces back to long-standing litigation over Section 3-J of the National Highways Act, 1956, which had excluded the Land Acquisition Act, 1894’s beneficial provisions for solatium and interest from highway projects. Earlier judgments — Tarsem Singh-I (2019) and Tarsem Singh-II (February 2025) — had already held that landowners are entitled to these benefits even for acquisitions made during the 1997–2015 interregnum, when the NH Act’s compensation regime was less favourable than the general law.
NHAI had sought review primarily on the ground that the financial burden was far higher than what was projected earlier (₹100 crore versus an actual estimate of around ₹29,000 crore). The Court rejected this as a ground for review, firmly stating that constitutional guarantees of just compensation under Article 300A cannot be diluted merely because of the scale of the payout. The judges observed that the fiscal argument had already been considered and dismissed in Tarsem Singh-II, and a mere correction of figures does not constitute an error apparent on the face of the record.
However, the Court used the review proceedings to issue important clarifications on the scope and timing of claims. Recognising the need to balance landowners’ rights with the principle of finality of litigation, the bench drew a clear line based on the cut-off date of 28 March 2008 — the date of the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s judgment in Golden Iron and Steel Forging v. Union of India, which had first extended solatium and interest benefits under the NH Act.
Here is what the Supreme Court has now directed:
- Landowners whose compensation claims (for quantum or components) were still pending or alive on or after 28 March 2008 before any competent authority, arbitrator or court are fully entitled to solatium, interest, and interest on solatium.
- Where such landowners filed their claims for these additional benefits after 28 March 2008 with delay, they will receive solatium and interest only from the date their fresh claim was actually raised — no interest will be payable for the period of delay.
- Claims that had attained finality before 28 March 2008 (with no pending appeal, writ petition or SLP) cannot be reopened for solatium or interest.
The Court also remanded the tagged SLPs from the Bombay and Chhattisgarh High Courts back to the respective High Courts for fresh computation strictly in accordance with these directions. Importantly, the judgment clarifies that NHAI or the Union of India cannot seek refund or recovery of any solatium or interest already paid to landowners.
This balanced outcome protects genuine claimants while closing the door on decades-old, stale claims that would otherwise unsettle concluded acquisitions. For highway-affected farmers and landowners, the ruling reaffirms that the right to just compensation is not a mere technicality but a constitutional imperative — though it must be pursued within reasonable time limits.
Lawcutor 