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2014 (4) TMI 1211 - SC - Indian LawsEligibility of auction - permissible for the Port Trust to terminate the tender - Held that:- As already pointed out that can hardly be a ground to test the validity of a decision in administrative law. For the sake of argument, even if you presume that there a concluded contract, mere termination thereof cannot be dubbed as arbitrary. A concluded contract if terminated in a bonafide manner, that may amount to breach of contract and certain consequences may follow thereupon under the law of contract. However, on the touch stone of parameters laid down in the administrative law to adjudge a decision as are arbitrary or not, when such a decision is found to be bonafide and not actuated with arbitrariness, such a contention in administrative law is not admissible namely how and why a concluded contract is terminated. We, therefore, reject this contention of the appellant. Doctrine of promissory estoppel applicability - Held that:- If there is a supervening public equity, the Government would be allowed to change its stand and has the power to withdraw from representation made by it which induced persons to take certain steps which may have gone adverse to the interest of such persons on account of such withdrawal. Merely because the resolution was announced for a particular period, it did not mean that the Government could not amend and change the policy under any circumstances. If the party claiming application of doctrine acted on the basis of a notification, it should have known that such notification was liable to be amended or rescinded at any point of time, if the Government felt that it was necessary to do so in public interest. This contention of the appellant, therefore, is equally devoid of any merits. Concluded contract between the parties - Held that:- When the LOI is itself hedged with the condition that the final allotment would be made later after obtaining CRZ and other clearances, it may depict an intention to enter into contract at a later stage. Thus, we find that on the facts of this case it appears that a letter with intention to enter into a contract which could take place after all other formalities are completed. However, when the completion of these formalities had taken undue long time and the prices of land, in the interregnum, shot up sharply, the respondent had a right to cancel the process which had not resulted in a concluded contract. We again emphasise that the issue of the argument of their being a concluded contract is raised in a petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution and not by way of suit. The issue whether there was a concluded contract and breach thereof become secondary and is examined by us with that limited scope in mind. In such proceedings main aspect which has to be is as to whether impugned decision of the Port Trust was arbitrary or unreasonable. It is also important to remark that in a given case even if it is held that there was a concluded contract, whether specific performance can be ordered or not would be a moot question in writ proceedings. The appellant took the calculated risk in not going to the civil court and choosing to invoke extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court, which is also discretionary in nature. Appeal dismissed.
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