HARYANA URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY vs PRITI CHAWLA

The Supreme Court held that interest at the rate of 18% per annum cannot be uniformly applied in all cases, as established in Ghaziabad Development Authority vs. Balbir Singh (2004) 5 SCC 65. The Court emphasized that compensation for mental agony must correlate with actual loss or injury, requiring a finding of deficiency in service or misfeasance in public office. The Court set aside the National Commission's order increasing interest to 18% and confirmed the State Forum's awards for mental agony and costs, while directing a recalculation of compensation for construction cost escalation based on CPWD rates.