The Delhi High Court on Thursday said that the allotment of residential accommodation cannot be based purely on the whims of the authorities.
The HC was hearing a plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party, seeking the allotment of a bungalow for its national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In its petition, AAP stated that as per the guidelines for the allotment of accommodation from the general pool to political parties, the president of a party which is nationally recognised is entitled to one government residence in Delhi, PTI reported.
This comes with the exception that they do not own a house or have been allotted one in any other official capacity.
The HC, during the hearing, said that there had to be a “transparent mechanism” for allotment of bungalows, adding that it could not be based “purely on your whims.”
The court said it wanted to know how the allotments were prioritised, as long as there was a “clear discernible policy”. "I am concerned with the larger issue as to how the discretion is applied in allotment of bungalows,” the court said.
"… How priority is taken into account, sequence of allotment?... Assuming there is a limited number of bungalows, how do you decide?” the court questioned
{{/usCountry}}"… How priority is taken into account, sequence of allotment?... Assuming there is a limited number of bungalows, how do you decide?” the court questioned
{{/usCountry}}The HC further asked if there was any procedure in place for the allotment, and if it had been “applied in the past”.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearimg for AAP, said that “all pre-conditions are met” for the allotment of the accommodation to Kejriwal. “There is a national convenor, who is also the national president. We are requesting a centrally located residence,” PTI quoted the counsel as saying.
Mehra further said that while the government counsel had previously asked for time to seek instructions on AAP's proposal to allot the bungalow at 35 Lodhi Estate to Kejriwal, it had been allotted to someone else.
Replying to the court's question on when the Type VII bungalow was allotted to Union Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, the Centre's counsel said it had been done on July 24 this year.
The bungalow had been vacated by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati in May.
The court had, on September 16, pulled up the Centre for the delay in the allotment of the residential accommodation to Kejriwal. It had noted that the government's approach was like a “free system for all”, adding that it could not be selective on the allotment of houses.
The court had also asked the Centre to submit, by September 18, records which outline the government policy based on which the allotment of houses from the general pool of residential accommodation and the current waiting list is done.
The HC has also asked the joint secretary of Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the director of Directorate of Estates to be present before it virtually during the hearing on September 25.