India, June 24 -- The Bombay High Court has imposed a cost of Rs.5 lakh on the Maharashtra government for dragging infrastructure company IVRCL Limited into a decade-long "avoidable litigation" over excavated land in the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) campus, holding that the proceedings were taken up based on a non-existent legal provision.

A single-judge bench of justice Kamal Khata on June 22 quashed an order passed by the revenue authorities in November 2014, directing IVRCL to make a payment of Rs.54.08 lakh.

The bench also directed the state government to ensure that officials exercising statutory powers are made aware of applicable laws. It further asked the government to frame guidelines for officials to obtain le...