P&H High Court Rejects NHAI’s Objections; Says Panchkula Office Cannot Escape MACT Award

Case Name: National Highways Authority of India vs. Ganga Devi and Another; NHAI vs. Rajesh Negi and Others
Date of Judgment: 10 November 2025
Citation: CR-7862-2025 & CR-7877-2025
Bench: Hon’ble Ms. Justice Mandeep Pannu

Held: The Punjab & Haryana High Court dismissed NHAI’s revision petitions and upheld the Executing Court’s order rejecting its objections. The Court held that NHAI’s Chandigarh and Panchkula Regional Offices operate under the same statutory authority, and a change of office address cannot defeat execution. It ruled that territorial-jurisdiction objections regarding the MACT award could not be raised before the Executing Court because such objections attack the correctness of the award, not its inherent jurisdiction. It held that the Tribunal’s award was valid on its face and could not be undermined in execution.

Summary: NHAI challenged the execution of a MACT award dated 31.10.2023. It argued that the Tribunal at Chandigarh lacked territorial jurisdiction because the accident occurred in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, and the claimants and vehicle were based there. It also claimed that its Panchkula office could not be treated as the judgment debtor because the award was passed against its Chandigarh office. The Court found that NHAI functioned as a single statutory body and that both offices came under the same legal umbrella. It held that objections about territorial jurisdiction and impleadment must be raised before the Tribunal itself and could not be revived during execution. It also noted that NHAI had already filed an application under Order IX Rule 13 CPC before the Tribunal, which would be decided on its own merits.

Decision: Both revision petitions were dismissed. The impugned order dated 04.10.2025 was affirmed. All pending applications were disposed of.