STATE OF PUNJAB vs RAMJILAL & ORS.

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's ruling that the notification issued by the Punjab Government under Section 8(2) of the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913, was mala fide and invalid. The Court found that the defendants failed to establish a genuine intention to set up a factory on the purchased land, and the notification was aimed at defeating the plaintiffs' pre-emption rights, which had already been decreed by the Civil Court. The Court affirmed the High Court's decision, emphasizing that the State's failure to adequately explain the circumstances surrounding the notification warranted no interference.