SATISH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this writ petition are all employees of the Notified Area Committee, Mullanpur Dakha, District Ludhiana (hereinafter called the Committee) and are working there since long. The State of Punjab vide executive instructions contained in letter dated March 15, 1973 decided that all the government employees whose place of duty was within five miles (8 kms.) from the qualifying limits of the cities eligible for house rent allowance be given the benefit of house rent allowance without any reference to their place of residence. Ludhiana was admittedly an eligible city for the purpose of these instructions which seem to have been adopted by the Committee on the basis of which the Committee started paying to its employees (the petitioners) house rent allowance in terms of the said instructions since the place of their position was stated to be within five miles (8 kms.) from the qualifying limits of Ludhiana. The learned counsel for the parties are agreed that the administrative instructions issued by the State Government stood withdrawn by the Government as per its notification/order dated 30.8.1983 and the petitioners have made no grievance in regard to this withdrawal. As a result of this order dated 30.8.1983, house rent allowance within the distance of five miles (8 kms.) from the qualifying limits of the cities eligible for house rent allowance was withdrawn throughout the State and the Committee is not paying this allowance to its employees any more.

(2.) While the instructions dated 15.3.1973 were still in force, the Executive Officer of the Committee by his letter dated 7.9.1981 addressed to the President, Employees Union Notified Area Committee, Mullanpur Dakha (Regd), informed the petitioners that the house rent allowance to all the employees of the Committee had been stopped w.e.f. August, 1981 in compliance with the instructions from the Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Ludhiana on the ground that he had been intimated by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana that Mullanpur Dakha did not fall within a distance 8 kms, from the periphery of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. The payment of house rent allowance to the petitioners was, thus discontinued. The petitioners have challenged this communication and the consequent stoppage of payment of house rent allowance to them in the present writ petition. The letter addressed to the petitioners through their Union reads as under :-

(3.) The only contentions advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the respondents could not withdraw the grant of house rent allowance by an ex parte decision conveyed to the petitioners as per letter dated 7.9.1981. It is urged that the instructions issued by the State Government were in force throughout the State of Punjab till August 30, 1988 and the least that was required of the respondents under the rules of natural justice was to have afforded an opportunity of hearing before any unilateral decision withdrawing the benefit of house rent allowance could be taken. I find force in this contention.