TMI Blog2015 (8) TMI 1427X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arrive at his conclusion. It is beyond cavil that any Authority cannot be permitted to travel beyond the stand adopted and expressed by it in the impugned action. In the circumstances of the present case, we hold that if the Respondents tender the price of the land equivalent to the prevailing Circle Rate minus the sums already paid by them to the Appellant within ninety days from today, the Appellant shall take all necessary steps to convey the land to the Respondents within sixty days thereafter. Decided partly in favor of respondents. - CIVIL APPEAL No. 629 OF 2006 WITH C.A. No. 630 of 2006 - - - Dated:- 25-8-2015 - SEN, VIKRAMAJIT AND SINGH,SHIVA KIRTI, JJ. JUDGEMENT VIKRAMAJIT SEN, J. 1 These Appeals assail the J ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... siled from this commitment. Shri Walia was obviously a disgruntled party, and any official with a modicum of experience would not require superlative sagacity to discount or ignore his complaint. This is especially so since, admittedly, Shri Walia had been called upon to file his complaint in writing, but which he declined to do. 3 Without conveying to the Respondents the reasons for not accepting their bids, being the highest offer received in the course of the auction process, a decision was taken by the Appellant to re-auction the said two properties. This was despite the fact that the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Punjab State Leather Development Corporation Ltd. had recorded, on 15.6.2004, that the bids of the Respondents we ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s, its validity must be judged by the reasons so mentioned and cannot be supplemented by fresh reasons in the shape of affidavit or otherwise. Otherwise, an order bad in the beginning may, by the time it comes to court on account of a challenge, get validated by additional grounds later brought out. We may here draw attention to the observations of Bose J. in Gordhandas Bhanji [1952] 1 SCR 135: Public orders publicly made, in exercise of a statutory authority cannot be construed in the light of Explanations subsequently given by the officer making the order of what he meant, or of what was in his mind, or what he intended to do. Public orders made by public authorities are meant to have public effect and are intended to affect the acting an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... swathi Ammal AIR 1970 Mad 257, which held that notwithstanding the fixation of upset price and notwithstanding the fact that a bidder has offered an amount higher than the reserve/upset price, the sale is still open to challenge on the ground that the property has not fetched the proper price and that the sale be set aside. The same principle was upheld more recently in Ram Kishun Vs. State of U.P. (2012) 11 SCC 511. However, we must hasten to clarify that the Government does not have a carte blanche to take any decision it chooses to; it cannot take a capricious, arbitrary or prejudiced decision. Its decision must be informed and impregnated with reasons. This has already been discussed threadbare in several decisions of this Court, incl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sons contained therein. The assailed action of the Appellant is not substantiated in the noting, which ought at least to have been conveyed to the Respondents. 7 The bid of the Respondents is already over a decade old, which is the period the present Appeal has been awaiting its turn in this Court. We must, therefore, balance the equities and interest of the adversaries before us. It has been submitted by the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondents that although the Appellant had addressed a letter to the Respondents purporting to return the sums received from them, the cheque for this amount was not enclosed with the letter. The fact remains that these sums continue to be in the coffers of the Appellant. It is also submitted by the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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