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National Highways Act, 1956 — Amendments and compensation provisions — Section 3-J introduced in 1997 removed applicability of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act) provisions for solatium and interest — Overturned by various High Courts, including reading down Sections 3-G and 3-J to grant solatium and interest — Subsequently, Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (2013 Act) and its amended provisions extended to NH Act — Court clarified that landowners acquired lands under NH Act between 1997 and 2015 are entitled to solatium and interest — Review Petition filed by NHAI arguing financial burden was underestimated rejected, but clarification on delayed claims issued. Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC) — Order 21 Rule 102 — Applicability — Provision contemplates a situation where a judgment debtor transfers property after institution of suit to a person who then obstructs execution — Not applicable where respondents derived title from independent registered sale deeds, not from the judgment debtor. Land Acquisition Act, 1894 — Section 28-A — Re-determination of compensation — Second application for re-determination based on High Court award maintainable even after accepting compensation based on Reference Court award — Principle of merger means appellate court’s award supersedes earlier award, entitling landowners to benefit from higher compensation — Object of Section 28-A is to ensure equality in compensation among similarly placed landowners. Electricity Act, 2003 — Section 61, 86 — Tariff determination and Generation Based Incentive (GBI) — State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has exclusive power to determine tariff — Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) introduced GBI to incentivise renewable energy generation — GBI is intended to be over and above the tariff fixed by SERC — SERC must consider GBI while determining tariff, but not necessarily deduct it — SERC’s power to determine tariff includes considering incentives — Parliament’s allocation of funds for GBI does not prevent SERC from considering it in tariff — SERC must exercise its power harmoniously with other stakeholders to achieve policy objectives. Contract Law — Award of Tender — Judicial Review — High Court should exercise restraint when reviewing tender evaluation processes, especially in technical matters, unless there is clear evidence of mala fide, arbitrariness, or irrationality — A marginal difference in scores, as seen in this case, does not automatically warrant interference, especially when the owner has the right to accept or reject bids and the contract is already underway.

Refund of earnest/advance money requires specific pleading under S. 22(2) Specific Relief Act, even if specific performance is refused; forfeiture of earnest money is generally permissible upon purchaser’s default. Shree Hanuman Cotton Mills v. Tata Air Craft Ltd., (1969) 3 SCC 522 — Principles reiterated.; Videocon Properties Ltd. v. Bhalchandra Laboratories, (2004) 3 SCC 711 — Followed. ; Satish Batra v. Sudhir Rawal, (2013) 1 SCC 345 — Followed and applied. ; Central Bank of India v. Shanmugavelu, (2024) 6 SCC 641 — Followed.; Fateh Chand v. Balkishan Dass, 1963 SCC OnLine SC 49 — Distinguished regarding earnest money; Applied regarding penalty.; Maula Bux v. Union of India, (1969) 2 SCC 554 — Distinguished regarding earnest money; Applied regarding penalty.; Kailash Nath Associates v. DDA, (2015) 4 SCC 136 — Considered and distinguished on facts.; Godrej Projects Development Ltd. v. Anil Karlekar, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 222 — Cited.

2025 INSC 617 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH K.R. SURESH Vs. R. POORNIMA AND OTHERS ( Before : J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, JJ. ) Civil Appeal No. 5822…

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