UNION OF INDIA Vs. GANESH UPADHYAYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Union of India has filed this Writ Petition against the judgement and Order dated 5/06/1998 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal in O.A. No.2405/97 thereby allowing the said OA filed by the respondent herein. By the impugned judgement the learned Tribunal has directed the petitioners herein to regularise Type IV quarter No.1018, Sector VIII, R.K. Puram, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the Quarter, for short) in the name of the applicant w.e.f. 1/06/1997 subject to payment of licence fee as per Rules. The case of the petitioners is that the respondent herein was not eligible for the said allotment from the aforesaid date and therefore he is liable to pay penal rent for the period in question.

(2.) . The fact of the matter is not in dispute. Succinctly stated, the respondent herein was appointed as SSO Grade II (Rs.2200/- - Rs.4000.00) and was transferred to Delhi in November 1992 where he resided with his father who was Assistant Director (Intelligence Bureau) and was allotted the Quarter. The respondent's father retired on 31/01/1997. Therefore it is not in dispute that on the retirement of his father the respondent fulfilled all requisite conditions for 'out of turn allotment'. He accordingly submitted application dated 1 7/02/1997 for regularisation of the Quarter in his favour consequent to the retirement of his father. However, instead of regularising the allotment of the Quarter the petitioners alloted a Type II quarter being quarter no.1275, Sector VIII, R.K. Puram, New Delhi vide allotment letter dated 27/08/1997. Challenging this allotment of an inferior type and claiming regularisation of the Quarter, allotted to his father before his retirement, the respondent filed the aforesaid Original Application. As already noticed above, this O.A. has been allowed by the impugned judgement.

(3.) . Challenging the validity of the impugned judgement it was contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that as per the norms laid down by the Supreme Court, year wise list of the applicants for allotment was required to be prepared. The Government had issued O.M. dated 15/10/1993 inviting applications for this purpose pursuant to which the respondent had submitted his aplication. Applications vide this O.M. were invited for allotment in the year 1994-95 which was extended by O.M.dated 8/12/1995 till all applications under it were first considered. Accordingly on 17/02/1997 when the respondent applied, his application was considered as per the aforesaid O.M. for a type IV quarter. The basic pay as on cut-off date, which was fixed as 1/03/1993, of the respondent should have been Rs.2475.00. However, the basic pay of the respondent on that date was Rs.2425.00. It was also submitted that as per the direction of the Supreme Court on 17/07/1995 in Civil Writ Petition No.584/95 no new allotment year was to be announced till the pending applications were exhausted. Referring to the applications submitted by the respondent no.1 it was mentioned that column 2 thereof related to the basic pay as on 1/10/1993. However, the respondent no.1 after scoring out the date of 1/10/1993 mentioned his own date of 31/01/1997 and also his pay scale of Rs.3100.00 as on 31/01/1997.