Can the Supreme Court exercise its power under Article 142 of the Constitution to set aside a registered conveyance deed and order restitution when the underlying land acquisition has lapsed?

Yes. To do complete justice under Article 142, the Court set aside the registered Conveyance Deed and directed refund of the entire consideration with interest reduced to 7.5% per annum, achieving mutual restitution between the parties.

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII-A — Commercial Courts Act, 2015 — Summary judgment — Fair Compensation Act, 2013 — s.24(2) — Lapse of acquisition — Refund — Article 142 — Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII-A r.3 — 'real prospect of success' test — Held: Order XIII-A permits summary judgment only where a party has no real prospect of succeeding or defending a claim. The standard demands a likelihood that is real and substantial, not merely fanciful or arguable. (¶43, 51) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — Order XIII-A — nine-point guideline — no mini-trial — Held further: A court must ask whether either side lacks a real prospect of success without conducting a mini-trial, weighing evidence reasonably expected at trial. Nine non-exhaustive guidelines were laid down, urging courts to 'grasp the nettle' on neat points of law. (¶56, 59) Fair Compensation Act, 2013 — s.24(2) — lapse — possession not sine qua non for refund — Held further: Once the acquisition underlying the plot had lapsed under Section 24(2) with finality after dismissal of review and curative petitions, possession was not sine qua non for refund. Both the Authority's possession-based defence and its limitation plea were fanciful, raising no triable issue. (¶64, 66) Constitution of India, Art. 142 — restitution — refund with interest — conveyance deed set aside — Held further: Since the acquisition had lapsed with finality, the Court invoked Article 142 to set aside the registered Conveyance Deed and ordered refund of the entire consideration with interest reduced to 7.5% per annum. The appeal was allowed and the suit decreed accordingly. (¶80, 83)

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