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City Industrial Development Corporation v. Platinum Entertainment

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 9264 of 2014)Decided 26 Sept 2014
Civil Appeal No. 9264 of 2014
Justice M.Y. Eqbal · Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Background

CIDCO allotted valuable Navi Mumbai plots for multiplexes and a country club through private applications associated with the same person. Following an inquiry into irregular allotments, CIDCO cancelled the allotments. The Bombay High Court restored them, and CIDCO appealed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed CIDCO's appeals and upheld all three cancellations. The allotments showed favouritism: the authority had not assessed individual merits transparently and had allotted commercial land in different names to the same group. A regulation permitting individual applications did not remove the constitutional duty to act fairly and give potential applicants an opportunity to compete. The Court urged CIDCO to use open tenders or competitive bids and avoid allotments made at ministers' or other dignitaries' instance.

Lesson Learnt

Government land cannot be distributed through political influence or undisclosed preferential treatment. Even when direct applications are legally possible, the process must remain transparent and offer fair access to eligible applicants.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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