Synopsis

The petitioners’ land was acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956 for highway widening. An award was passed under Section 3G(1) on 31.01.2014 determining compensation. The petitioners claimed that their land was non-agricultural commercial land with a commercial structure, but the award treated it as agricultural land. They filed an application under Section 3G(5) before the Arbitrator on 18.02.2016 seeking redetermination of compensation. However, nearly ten years later, they filed a writ petition before the Gujarat High Court seeking a fresh survey, modification of the award, and directions to the Arbitrator to adjudicate. The High Court dismissed the petition as “wholly misconceived”, holding that the Arbitrator appointed under Section 3G(5) has full jurisdiction to redetermine compensation considering all factors, including the nature of land and structures. The court refused to bypass the statutory arbitral mechanism.

Court: High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad

Coram: Hon’ble The Chief Justice Mrs. Justice Sunita Agarwal and Hon’ble Mr. Justice D.N. Ray (Division Bench)

Date of Judgment: 8th May, 2026

Citation: Special Civil Application No. 6919 of 2026 (unreported)

Core Law: National Highways Act, 1956 – Sections 3A, 3G(1), 3G(5), 3G(7), 3H; Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

1. Heading of the judgment

High court of gujarat at ahmedabad

Special civil application no. 6919 of 2026

Allied corporation rutesh kanubhai bhatt (huf) through karta kaushal rutesh bhatt and anr. (petitioners) vs. Union of india and ors. (respondents)

Coram: hon’ble the chief justice mrs. justice sunita agarwal and hon’ble mr. justice d.n. ray

Date of judgment: 8th may, 2026

2. Legal framework

Major laws and provisions involved:

National highways act, 1956 – section 3a (preliminary notification for acquisition), section 3g(1) (award by competent authority determining compensation), section 3g(5) (reference to arbitrator on application of any person aggrieved by award), section 3g(6) and (7) (arbitrator to redetermine compensation considering factors in clauses (a) to (d) – market value of land at date of notification under section 3a, damage to standing crops/trees, severance/injury, etc.), section 3h (disbursement of compensation)

Arbitration and conciliation act, 1996 – applicable to arbitration proceedings under section 3g(5) of the national highways act

Subject matter of the judgment:

... Upgrade to a Premium Plan to view the full judgment.