“ 23 . The authority of the second respondent to enter into contracts, consequently, the concomitant power not to enter into a contract with a particular person, does not flow from Article 298, as Article 298 deals with only the authority of the Union of India and the States. The authority of the second respondent to enter into a contract with all the incidental and concomitant powers flows from Sections 3(1) and (2) [ “3.Constitution of the Authority.—(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, there shall be constituted for the purposes of this Act an Authority to be called the National Highways Authority of India.(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and to contract and shall by the said name sue and be sued.”] of the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. The nature of the said power is similar to the nature of the power flowing from Article 298 of the Constitution, though it is not identical.
