New
Delhi:
Government accommodation is meant for serving officials and not retirees as a “benevolence”,
the Supreme Court has said while setting aside an order of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court allowing a retired public servant to retain such premises.
Right
to shelter does not mean right to government accommodation, the Supreme Court
said, observing that direction to allow a retired public servant to retain such
premises for an indefinite period is distribution of state largesse without any
policy.
While
allowing the appeal filed by the Centre, a bench of justices Hemant Gupta and
AS Bopanna set aside the High Court order and directed the retired Intelligence
Bureau officer, a Kashmiri migrant, to hand over vacant physical possession of
the premises on or before October 31, 2021.
The
bench also directed the Centre to submit a report of action taken against
retired public servants, who are in government accommodation post their
retirement by virtue of orders of the high courts, by November 15, 2021.
The
officer, who was transferred to Faridabad where he was allotted a government
accommodation, had attained the age of superannuation from service on October
31, 2006.
“The
right to shelter does not mean right to government accommodation. The
government accommodation is meant for serving officers and officials and not to
the retirees as a benevolence and distribution of largesse,” the bench said in
its judgement passed last week.
The
Supreme Court was hearing a plea against the July 2011 order of a division bench
of the high court which had dismissed a petition against its single judge
order.
The
single judge had said it was not possible for the retired officer to return to
his own state due to which the order of eviction shall be kept in abeyance. The
high court had also said the authorities were at liberty to provide alternative
accommodation to him on nominal licence fee in Faridabad.
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