SC Orders Refund as Sand Block Auction Winner Denied Possession

Popatrao Vyankatrao Patil Vs State of Maharashtra & Ors. (Supreme Court of India) The Supreme Court of India has ordered the State of Maharashtra to refund over ₹62 lakh to a man who won a sand block auction but was never given possession of the site. The court set aside a Bombay High Court order and criticized the government’s “arbitrary” and “unreasonable” conduct, reiterating that the state must act as a “model litigant.” Case Background In 2012, Popatrao Vyankatrao Patil was the highest bidder for a sand block in the Krishna river, located in...