Cuttack: The Orissa High Court rejected a petition, challenging the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC)’s public auction of flats.
The 75 flats at Jeevan Bima Nagar, Phase-II, Chandrasekharpur, were initially allotted to policyholders through a draw of lots in 2014, and subsequently cancelled that year.
A policyholder who had deposited Rs 1 lakh and was among the successful applicants moved the petition, arguing that LIC’s current auction, with flat prices raised to Rs 80.54 lakh from Rs 58.10 lakh, was arbitrary and exploitative for a state entity. The petitioner requested for a court order for LIC to execute the conveyance deed and transfer possession of the originally allotted flat.
The LIC countered that the 2014 cancellation was due to government directives prohibiting registration without record of rights (ROR), which was only secured in 2024 after land mutation and reclassification. It justified the auction and updated pricing as compliant with fair disposal requirements, reflecting current market and construction costs.
Dismissing the petition, Justice SK Panigrahi said, “The court cannot ignore the practical realities of urban development, land classification, and escalating construction costs. It is not open to a writ court (HC) to freeze pricing or enforce historic transactions when the statutory and legal framework has significantly changed over a decade.”
The HC pointed out that LIC, being a public authority, is entitled to re-value and dispose of its assets in a lawful, transparent manner, and “no mala fide can be imputed to its decision to conduct an e-auction in 2025.”
It further ruled that without a sale agreement, registration, or part-performance beyond a token application fee, no enforceable legal right vested in the petitioner. “He had, at best, an inchoate interest that lapsed upon lawful cancellation,” the Judge added.
