AJAY KUMAR BHATNAGAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these Petitions we are concerned with applications for retention of Government accommodation owing to the retirement of the allottee during the existing eligibility of the retirees' ward for grant of Government accommodation. The applications in these petitions are all post May, 1999. Reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the Petitioners on Office Memorandum dated 12.10.1990 in which it was possible to retain Government accommodation from the general pool, even though the next entitlement (of the ward) is from the departmental pool and vice-versa. Under the 1990 Office Memorandum the retention was possible in certain circumstances. Learned counsel appearing for the Respondents submit in unison that the Office Memorandum dated 12.10.1990 is no longer in vogue after the coming into operation of Office Memorandum dated 20th May, 1999, Clause 2(i) of which reads as follows: When a Govt. servant, who is allottee of general pool accommodation, retires from service, the ward/spouse will be eligible for regularisation/allotment of entitled type of accommodation provided he/she is, as Govt. servant eligible for allotment of accommodation from general pool and had been residing continuously with the retiring Govt. servant for at least three year immediately preceding the date of retirement. In case, however, a person is appointed in Govt. servant within a period of three years preceding the date of retirement or had been transferred to the place of posting of the retiring Govt. servant any time within the preceding three years, the date on which he was so appointed/transferred would be the date for the purpose.

(2.) My attention has also been drawn to paragraph 4 of this Office Memorandum which clarifies that it shall be applicable in respect of all cases where the family was retaining the Government accommodation authorisedly as on 1.1.1998. It has been further clarified in this paragraph that this facility of regularisation/allotment of alternate accommodation will not be admissible in cases where the allottee was in possession of general pool and the ward/spouse is not eligible for allotment of accommodation from general pool accommodation and/or vice versa.

(3.) After the coming into operation of Office Memorandum dated 20th May, 1999, there is no reason for the entertainment of the Writ Petitions.