Bombay High Court Holds Landowners Must Be Compensated Even For Land Reserved For Service Roads In Highway Acquisition

The Bombay High Court has ruled that landowners are entitled to compensation even for portions of their land reserved for service roads and related public utility purposes during acquisition proceedings. Holding the denial of such compensation to be arbitrary, the Court directed the authorities to pay the amount determined under the acquisition award.

The case arose from the acquisition of a landowner’s property for the widening of National Highway No. 211 (Dhule–Solapur Road). While compensation was awarded for a portion of the acquired land and a residential structure standing on it, the authorities refused to compensate the owner for a substantial area earmarked for a service road. According to the acquiring authority, only a limited portion had been formally acquired, while the remaining land was merely required to be kept vacant for the service road and therefore did not qualify for compensation.

Challenging this stand, the landowner approached the High Court, contending that the restriction effectively deprived him of the beneficial use of the land. During the proceedings, the Court examined previous judicial decisions dealing with compensation for lands reserved for roads, open spaces, and other public amenities.

Relying on precedents of the Supreme Court and earlier Bombay High Court rulings, the Division Bench held that a landowner cannot be deprived of compensation merely because the land is reserved for public utility purposes. The Court observed that such land remains unavailable for private use and, therefore, compensation must follow.

Allowing the petition, the Court directed the competent authority to release the compensation within two months. It further warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would attract costs of ₹50,000 for the delay.