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 Rethare Khurd village, for an amount of ₹59.75 lakh. After winning the bid, he deposited the full auction amount, along with environmental costs and income tax, totaling ₹62,26,085. However, due to opposition from villagers because the site was near a school, the authorities never handed over possession of the sand block to him. Consequently, no sand was excavated.
Patil repeatedly requested a refund of his deposited amount. Documents from multiple government officials, including the Circle Officer, Tehsildar, and Sub-Divisional Officer, confirmed that he was never given possession and had not excavated any sand. The District Collector, Satara, also acknowledged this and began the process of a refund. However, the refund was denied after the relevant file was reportedly lost in transit. The State Government formally rejected his refund request in 2014.
