SC slams parts of NHAI Act, asks govt to examine

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956 (NHAI Act), calling them “bad” for depriving landowners of judicial recourse and imposing a unilateral dispute resolution mechanism that places adjudicatory powers in the hands of bureaucrats rather than judicial officers.

A bench led by justice Surya Kant questioned why the act vests the determination of compensation with officers of the executive when even smaller state acquisitions require judicial oversight under the Land Acquisition Act and other laws.