Karnataka HC upholds BDA's right to reject auction bids without explanation
Bengaluru, Oct 15: The Karnataka High Court has upheld the Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) power to accept or reject bids in site auctions without providing reasons.
A division bench consisting of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice G Basavaraja concluded that the BDA's decision was lawful, aligning with the public interest and benefiting the general public.
The case arose after the BDA challenged a single-judge bench decision that quashed its rejection of a bid by a person named Sachin Nagarajappa.
The single judge had directed the BDA to confirm Nagarajappa's bid of Rs 1,54,000 per square metre, prompting the authority to appeal.
The BDA argued that its actions were consistent with the BDA (Disposal of Corner Sites and Commercial Sites) Rules, 1984, which empower the authority to accept or reject bids without offering explanations.
The BDA emphasised that public property auctions aim to secure the highest possible price, and it retains the right to cancel bids if the offered price is deemed inadequate.
The division bench referred to Rule 7 and the General Terms and Conditions of the BDA's e-Auction Notification, noting that the rule allows the authority to reject bids without providing reasons.
The court emphasised that the judiciary cannot interfere with the policy decisions made by the legislature or regulatory bodies unless there is evidence of illegality or misconduct.
Since the respondent did not challenge the constitutionality of Rule 7, and no evidence of fraud, collusion, or favoritism was presented, the court observed and concluded that the BDA's decision was neither arbitrary nor irrational.
It further noted that the property had been sold for over Rs 10 crore in a subsequent auction, benefiting the BDA.
The division bench set aside the single-judge bench ruling and upheld the BDA's decision to reject the bid.
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Bad timing: Fraudsters call senior Indore cop during press briefing to pull off 'digital arrest'
Indore, Nov 24: Some online fraudsters got their target and timing horribly wrong on Sunday after they attempted to "digitally arrest" a senior police official with an automated call over "credit card misuse" while he was addressing a press conference in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
"The caller informed that I had misused my credit card and as a result a case had been registered with Andheri West police station in Mumbai. I was having a press briefing at the time. I was told my bank account would be blocked and was asked to visit the police station in two hours," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) of Indore crime branch Rajesh Dandotia told PTI.
The official said he told the caller he would not be able to make it to Mumbai from Indore at such short notice.
"The caller told me he would be connect me to someone from the police station. He then connected me to another person, who asked me to wait. He said he would talk to his senior officer to see if my statement could be recorded via video call. When he saw me in police uniform, he immediately disconnected the video call," the official narrated.
Dandotia said he asked media persons to record a video so that people can be made aware of such cyber crimes and digital arrest.
Digital arrest is a modus operandi of cyber criminals who threaten a person with arrest, force the person to remain confined in a room while keeping him or her under electronic surveillance and then extort money on the pretext of "clearing" him or her of charges.
जब एडीसीपी क्राइम इंदौर को ही आ गया डिजिटल अरेस्ट के लिए कॉल pic.twitter.com/H965PKz1Mo
— SanjayGupta_Journalist (@sanjaygupta1304) November 24, 2024
