New Delhi [India], November 25 : The Supreme Court on Monday set aside the preferential allotment of lands to the housing societies of MPs, MLAs, civil servants, judges, defence personnel, journalists etc. within the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits, saying it promotes inequality.
A bench Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta quashed the Andhra Pradesh Government Memoranda (GoM) of 2005 classifying MPs, MLAs, officers of the AIl India Service/state government, judges of the Constitutional courts, and journalists as separate classes for allotment of land at the basic rate.
It also set aside the subsequent GoMs issued in 2008 allotting the lands within the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to these classes.
The bench while quashing GoMs said they are bad in law and being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
"Such a policy to be suffering from the malaise of unreasonableness and arbitrariness, and promoting inequality leading to the violation of Article 14 of the Constitution," the court said while dismissing the appeals filed by the state government and the cooperative societies and their members against a 2010 judgment of the Telangana High Court.
The bench said, "Land is a finite and highly valuable resource, particularly in densely populated urban areas, where access to land for housing and economic activities is increasingly scarce. When the government allocates land at discounted rates to the privileged few, it engenders a system of inequality, conferring upon them a material advantage that remains inaccessible to the common citizen."
The top court pointed out that this preferential treatment conveys the message that certain individuals are entitled to more, not due to the necessities of their public office or the public good, but simply because of their status.
"Such practices foster resentment and disillusionment among ordinary citizens, who perceive these actions as corrupt or unjust, thereby eroding trust in democratic institutions. This policy undermines solidarity and fraternity, reinforcing societal hierarchies rather than actively working to dismantle them," it said.
The allotments were made to cooperative societies composed of members of various groups, including Members of Parliament, Members of both houses of the state legislature, officers of All India Services, judges of the Supreme Court and High Court, state government employees, defence personnel, journalists and individuals from weaker sections of society.
The top court held that the object of the policy perpetuates "inequality" and it does not meet the equality and fairness standards prescribed by the Constitution.
"We think that Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court, MPs, MLAs, officers of the AIS, journalists etc., cannot be treated as a separate category for allotment of land at a discounted basic value in preference to others. The object of the policy perpetuates inequality. The policy differentiates and bestows largesse to an advantaged section/group by resorting to discrimination and denial. It bars the more deserving, as well as those similarly situated, from access to the land at the same price. It promotes social-economic exclusion, to favour a small and privileged section/group. The policy does not meet the equality and fairness standards prescribed by the Constitution," the verdict stated.