In Brief
Private Tour Operators challenged rejection of their Hajj 2016 registration applications. They had been exempted from specific policy clauses under 2016 norms, yet were rejected for non-compliance with those same exempted clauses. The Supreme Court held that statutory authorities cannot supplement rejection orders with fresh reasons. The arbitrary and patently illegal rejection violated Article 14. As time had passed making the original relief infructuous, the Court awarded Rs. 5 lakh per petitioner as public law compensation (exemplary damages) to penalise the wrongdoing and ensure accountability of public bodies, independent of private law remedies.
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