From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the public auction of sub-urban land of Malerkotla tehsil in Punjab in favour of the state government, setting aside August 2008 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In a 16-page judgment, a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S Oka held that the findings recorded by the High Court are unsustainable and deserves to be set aside, holding that it was not supposed to interfere in the opinion of the executive unldess its decision was totally arbitrary and unreasonable.
The top court said it was not open for the High Court to sit like a Court of Appeal over the decision of the competent authority and particularly in the matters where the authority competent of floating the tender is the best judge of its requirements.
The verdict penned by Justice Rastogi also ordered refund of Rs 78,000, being 1/5th of the bid amount, as earnest money on June 5,1993 to the respondent, Mehar Din, with interest at the rate of 12% per annum within two months.
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