In Brief
The City Montessori School challenged the State of Uttar Pradesh's decision to convert a leasehold plot to freehold in favour of M.M. Batra at Rs. 67,022, after initially accepting the school's higher auction bid of Rs. 8,51,043. The High Court set aside the conversion order as illegal and arbitrary. The Supreme Court upheld this decision, holding that state property must be transferred through fair and transparent processes consistent with constitutional equality principles. The Court dismissed both parties' appeals, leaving open the questions of the lessee's lease validity and any fresh auction, while barring dispossession without due process and allowing refunds of amounts paid by both parties.
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