T.N. RUGMANI AND ANOTHER vs C. ACHUTHA MENON AND ORS.

The Supreme Court held that the High Court erred in dismissing the writ petition on grounds of non-maintainability, clarifying that such a dismissal cannot equate to bad faith or lack of bona-fide. The Court emphasized the distinction between non-maintainability due to jurisdictional issues and dismissal for bad faith, stating that the TUDA acted arbitrarily in withholding construction permission. The Court ruled that restrictions under Section 15 of the relevant Act do not apply prior to the publication of a second notification, thereby allowing the petitioner to proceed with construction.