Gauhati High Court gives Centre final chance to respond in Phek highway compensation case involving 919 petitioners seeking interest
DIMAPUR — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has given the Union of India a final opportunity to file its response in a writ petition filed by 919 people from Phek district seeking interest on delayed compensation and solatium for damage to their land and properties during national highway construction.
In an order dated September 29, Justice N Unni Krishnan Nair noted that the Centre had been given several opportunities to file its response but had not done so.
The court granted the Centre time until October 26 to file its affidavit, making it clear that “no further opportunity to file such affidavit will be granted” if the response is not filed by then. The court said it would proceed to consider the issues arising in the writ petition on the basis of the material already available on record.
The petition has been filed by Vepozoyi Theyo and 918 others against the Union of India and six other respondents, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the State of Nagaland and the deputy commissioner of Phek.
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The petitioners are seeking interest for the delay in payment of compensation for damage to their land, properties and farms, as well as solatium for the permanent nature of the losses. According to an earlier order, the petitioners claimed that the damage occurred in 2012, while compensation was paid only in 2024/25.
The case follows an earlier public interest litigation filed by the Chakhesang Public Organisation in which the High Court, by an order dated January 30, 2023, held that victims whose land and properties had been damaged were entitled to compensation and directed the authorities to pay compensation based on assessments already made by the state respondents.
In January this year, the court noted that the state authorities had assessed the damage compensation at INR 5.81 crore and INR 55.12 crore in the earlier proceedings. While the compensation was subsequently paid in 2024, the earlier PIL did not grant interest or solatium.
The present petition seeks interest on the delayed compensation and solatium for the damage to the petitioners’ properties. During the January hearing, the court noted that interest had already been an issue in the earlier PIL and raised the question of whether the subsequent petition was maintainable and whether constructive res judicata would apply.
The petitioners’ counsel, however, submitted that the claim for solatium had not been raised in the earlier PIL and argued that the petitioners were entitled to it under the National Highways Act, 1956. The court also noted the petitioners’ submission that the cause of action was continuing despite the delay in filing the present petition.
On September 7, the state respondents informed the court that their counter affidavit had been filed, although the registry had not brought it on record at the time. The Centre’s counsel was then granted three weeks to complete instructions and file its response.