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Managing Director, U.P. Rajya Sahakari Krishi Evam Gramya Vikas Bank Ltd. & Anr. v. Subhash Chandra Awasthi & Anr.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 10868 of 2016)Decided 11 Nov 2016
Civil Appeal No. 10868 of 2016
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice A.M. Khanwilkar

Background

The appellants (the bank and its representative) challenged an award of compensation made in favour of the respondent, relying on this Court's earlier ruling in Assistant Engineer, Rajasthan Development Corporation vs. Gitam Singh (2013) on how such compensation should be computed.

Decision Breakdown

Having heard counsel and considered the facts, the Supreme Court found that a sum of ₹75,000 would constitute just compensation payable to the respondent. It directed the appellants to send an account-payee cheque for this amount to the respondent within two weeks, giving the respondent the choice to accept it in full and final settlement, or to return the cheque and apply to the Court for reconsideration if he was not satisfied. On this basis, the impugned order was set aside and the appeal was allowed, with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

The Supreme Court can revise the amount of compensation awarded by applying settled precedent on how such awards should be calculated, and will build in a simple mechanism, payment with an option to come back to Court if unsatisfied, so the claimant isn't left without a remedy if the amount offered proves inadequate.

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

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