W.P.(C) 13328/2026 $~36 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 1 st October, 2026. Uploaded on: 5 th October, 2026. # CNR No. DLHC010431512026 + W.P.(C) 13328/2026 MANISH PANWAR & ANR. .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Abhijat P. Banerjee, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Gaurav Goel, Mr. Uday Dabas, Advocates versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr Rakesh Kumar, CGSC with Mr Ankush Kapoor GP for R-1/UOI Ms. Qurratulain, Mr. Anil Kumar Goyal and Ms. Shagun Mishra Advocates for NHAI Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pathak, Standing Counsel with Ms. K.K. Kiran Pathak, Mr. Sunil Kumar Jha, Mr. M.S. Akhtar, Mr. Kushagra Dixit, Ms. Musarrar B Hasmi, Mr. Aman Singh and Mr. Sanjeet Kumar Patwari, Advocates for R-3 CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE DINESH BHATT Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral) 1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. W.P.(C) 13328/2026 & CM APPL. 61952/2026 2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner under Article 226 W.P.(C) 13328/2026 of the Constitution of India, inter alia , assailing the impugned Notification No. S.O.2927(E) dated 8th June, 2026 (hereinafter, impugned notification) issued under Section 3A of the National Highways Act, 1956, (hereinafter, the Act) by the Respondent No.1, in respect of the Peititoners land. 3. The background of the Petitioners case is that the Petitioners Manish Panwar and Vishal Panwar, are the sons of late Shri Devender Singh, who was the son of late Shri Ranveer Singh. As per the Petitioners, Sh. Ranveer Singh is the recorded owner of the land bearing Khasra Nos. 102 min, 14//13, 14//14 and 14//15, situated in the revenue estate of Village Mehrauli, Tehsil Hauz Khas, New Delhi (hereinafter, the subject land). According to the Petitioners, the land has devolved upon them from the family. Various documents including a family settlement dated 10th December, 2018 are placed on record. 4. According to the Petitioners, a farm house was constructed on the said land, which was duly sanctioned by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter, the MCD) as far back as 21st April, 1987. In terms of the sanction, the said farm house consists of the following: (i) Residential house admeasuring approximately 150 square yards, (ii) Kennel admeasuring approximately 4,000 square feet with capacity to house twelve dogs (iii) Parking shed admeasuring approximately 2,000 square feet 5. The grievance of the Petitioner in this case is that, vide the impugned notification, the National highways Authority of India (hereinafter, NHAI) seeks to acquire a part of the subject land for building (widening/two lane W.P.(C) 13328/2026 with paved shoulder/four laning etc.,), maintenance, management and operation of NH 148AE in the stretch of land from Km. 0.00 to Km. 4.60 (NH 148AE near Shivmurti to Nelson Mandela Marg Section) in the district of South in the state of Delhi (purpose). 6. The details of the land which is to be acquired vide the aforesaid impugned notification is set out below: W.P.(C) 13328/2026 7. Pursuant to the impugned notification, vide Notification bearing F.No.1 (1894)SO(LA)/South/NHAI/2026/609 dated 31st August, 2026, the ADM District South, who is the competent authority, has issued a notice to the W.P.(C) 13328/2026 Petitioners to file objections under Section 3C of Act and the hearing was also fixed for 8th September, 2026 at 2:30 pm. 8. The submissions on behalf of the ld. Counsel for the Petitioners is as under: (i) They have not been supplied the documents relating to the proposed acquisition. (ii) That even on 8th September, 2026 when the hearing was fixed, relevant documents were not given, except, one map which was handed over. The said map is set out below: (iii) The map of the village, which has been provided, is not clear as to how much of the Petitioners land is in fact being proposed to be acquired, and used for the public purpose. W.P.(C) 13328/2026 9. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pathak, ld. Standing Counsel for the LAC as also Ms. Qurratulain, ld. Counsel for the NHAI submit that the map is itself self- explanatory. 10. Further, ld. Counsels for the Respondents have made the following submissions: (i) That the map sets out the exact measurements, the exact extent of the land which is being acquired, and the expansion of the National Highway has also been duly depicted in the said map. (ii) That the objections under Section 3C of the Act have already been filed by the Petitioners. 11. On a query put by the Court, ld. Counsels for the Respondents submit that the necessary survey has been undertaken and demarcation has been carried out of the land that is to be acquired. 12. Heard the ld. Counsels for the parties. Under the National Highway Act, 1956, the Notification for intention to acquire the land is published under Section 3A of the Act, by the central government. Thereafter, the competent authority, in terms of Section 3B of the Act has to make an inspection, survey, measurement and any other inquiry of the subject land and issue notice for receiving objections. 13. Pursuant thereto, the competent authority issues notice for hearing of objections, in terms of Section 3C of the Act which is set out hereinbelow. 3-C. Hearing of objections .(1) Any person interested in the land may, within twenty-one days from the date of publication of the notification under sub- section (1) of Section 3-A, object to the use of the land for the purpose or purposes mentioned in that sub-section. W.P.(C) 13328/2026 (2) Every objection under sub-section (1) shall be made to the competent authority in writing and shall set out the grounds thereof and the competent authority shall give the objector an opportunity of being heard, either in person or by a legal practitioner, and may, after hearing all such objections and after making such further enquiry, it any, as the competent authority thinks necessary, by order, either allow or disallow the objections. Explanation.For the purposes of this sub-section, legal practitioner has the same meaning as in clause (i) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961). (3) Any order made by the competent authority under sub-section (2) shall be final. 14. As per Section 3C of the Act, objections can be filed by any person interested, within 21 days from the date of publication of the Notification under Section 3A of the Act. 15. In the present case, the Notification under Section 3A of the Act was issued on 8th June, 2026, and notice for receiving objections has been issued on 31st August, 2026. The hearing was scheduled for 8th September, 2026. 16. However, clearly from the submissions being made today, the Petitioners have some ambiguity as to which portion of their land is sought to be acquired and the Petitioners may require some more time to seek inspection of the record. 17. At this stage, the Petitioners have placed reliance upon the order dated 8th September, 2026 in Writ Petition (Civil) 10363/2026 titled Gautam Bali v. Union of India & Ors., wherein the Ld. Single Judge was dealing with a W.P.(C) 13328/2026 case filed by a different land owner, involving the same notification. In the said case, the ld. Single Judge vide order dated 8th September, 2026 has directed as under: XXX XXX XXX 7. In these circumstances, without commenting on the merits of the subject matter, this Court deems it appropriate to direct that, when the hearing is held today, the applicant/petitioner herein shall be provided with such documents as may be furnished to him under the applicable rules, against proper receipt, and he shall be afforded a proper and meaningful opportunity of hearing to enable him to make his submissions and submit his objections. 18. In terms thereof, the Court had directed that a proper and meaningful hearing be afforded to the Petitioners to enable them to make objections. 19. After hearing the ld. Counsels for the parties and considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, the Court is of the opinion that no interference is called for, at this stage, in the matter. In fact, the original file has been shown to the Court. The ld. Counsel for the Petitioners is at liberty to inspect the said file today and can take the same from Mr. Pathak, ld. Counsel for the LAC. If any documents are required, copies thereof may be furnished to the Petitioners. 20. Accordingly, the following directions are issued: (i) The documents, if any, which the Petitioners wish to further inspect, shall be made available for inspection by the concerned ADM on 7th October, 2026 at 11:30 a.m . (ii) The Petitioners shall be permitted to file further submissions in support of their objections by 30th October, 2026 . (iii) One last hearing may be granted to the Petitioners on 12th W.P.(C) 13328/2026 November, 2026 at 11:30 a.m . (iv) Finally, the competent authority shall proceed in accordance with law. 21. It is made clear that the aforesaid opportunity is being granted to the Petitioners in view of the unique facts and circumstances of the present case and shall not be treated as a precedent, as, in most matters where acquisition is being undertaken by the NHAI for the construction of a National Highway, there are timelines prescribed under the Act which are required to be adhered to, both by the authorities and the objectors. 22. The petition is disposed of in these terms. Pending applications, if any, are also disposed of. PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE DINESH BHATT JUDGE OCTOBER 1, 2026 rs/sm