The owners writ petitioners are aggrieved of the Notification number being quashed in spite of having been declared as illegal.
The special leave petitions filed by the Competent Authority are registered as SLP Civil No.
16820 of 2004 while those filed by the National Highways Authority of India are SLP Civil Nos.17874 75 of 2004.
Since all the petitions arise from a companymon judgment, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this judgment.
arising out of SLP 16820 OF 2004 With Civil Appeals No.7016 7017 of 2005 arising out SLP C Nos.17874 17875 of 2004 AND WITH Civil Appeal No.7018 of 2005 SLP C No.18773 of 2004 ARUN KUMAR, J. Leave granted.
The Writ Petitioners before the High Court have also filed a petition which is numbered as SLP Civil 18773 of 2004.
The writ petitioners challenged the acquisition of their lands on various grounds.
The other main parties are the Competent Authority and the National Highways Authority of India NHAI and they will be referred to as such in the judgment.
The Competent authority is aggrieved of the order of the High Court holding the Notification regarding the acquisition of the land to be illegal, while the NHAI is aggrieved of the award of additional 30 per cent amount as companypensation to the Writ Petitioners.
For sake of companyvenience the land owners are being referred to as the writ petitioners in this judgment.
The subject matter of these appeals is the companypulsory acquisition of certain lands belonging to the writ petitioners by the Central Government vide Notification dated 11th June, 1998 under Section 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956 hereinafter referred to as the Act .
The companytesting parties before the High Court filed special leave petitions in this Court against the judgment of the High Court dated 7th April, 2004.
