VIJENDER JAIN,J - (1.) THE petitioner has filed the present writ petition for quashing the impugned sub clauses (iii) and (iv) of Clause III (eligibility clause) of the Housing Scheme dated 14.1.2008 (Annexure P.1) floated by respondent No. 2-Chandigarh Housing Board and further to quash clause 5 of the impugned tripartite agreement executed during the month of October 2005 (Annexure P.4) being illegal, against the regulations and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. He has further prayed for issuance of direction to the respondents to accept and consider his application for allotment of dwelling unit under the Housing Scheme dated 14.1.2008 (Annexure P.1).
(2.) BROADLY , the facts are that the Chandigarh Housing Board, respondent No. 2 (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") notified a housing scheme on 14.1.2008 namely "Self Financing Housing Scheme-2008 on leasehold basis for 90 years for employees of Chandigarh" (hereinafter referred to as "SFH Scheme 2008"). In pursuance thereof, applications were invited from eligible Group A, B, C and D employees of Chandigarh Administration or its Board/Corporation or Punjab and Haryana High Court or on deputation with Chandigarh Administration on the dates of the opening of the scheme i.e 14.1.2008. The SFH Scheme 2008 comprised of four storey flats with different number of bed-rooms to be constructed in Sectors 52 and 56, Chandigarh or any other place earmarked by Chandigarh Administration. Details of accommodation and approximately area is given in the scheme. Clause III of the scheme prescribes the eligibility, which is as under : "III ELIGIBILITY (i) The applicant should be a regular employee of Chandigarh Administration or its Board/Corporation or Punjab and Haryana High Court or on deputation with the Chandigarh Administration on the date of the opening of the scheme or should have retired in last three years from the date of opening of the scheme. (ii) The applicant will be eligible for allotment of a dwelling unit in case he/she or his/her spouse or any of his/her minor children does not own on free hold or leasehold or on hire-purchase basis a residential plot/house in the Union Territory of Chandigarh or in either of the Urban Estates of Mohali or Panchkula. (iii) However, an applicant who has ever been allotted a residential plot/dwelling unit in the Union Territory Chandigarh or in any of the Urban Estates of Mohali or Panchkula, through Govt/Semi Government/Statutory Corporation/Board/Municipal Committee/Corporation/Registered Society like A.W.H.O or a Co-operative House Building Society, in his/her name or in the name of his/her spouse or any minor child, shall not be eligible for allotment. (iv) Similarly, an applicant who is holding a residential plot/dwelling unit in the U.T of Chandigarh or in any of the Urban Estates of Mohali or Panchkula on the basis of an Agreement to Sell and G.P.A etc executed in his/her favour or in favour of his/her spouse or any of his/her minor children, shall not be eligible. (v) The applicant shall further be required to continue to fulfil the eligibility conditions at (ii) to (iv) above, from the date of opening of the Scheme to the date of delivery of possession of the dwelling unit by the Chandigarh Housing Board. (v) The applicant can submit only one application and in one category only according to his/her eligibility. In case both the husband and wife are eligible under the Scheme, both of them can apply. However, in case both of them are successful only one will be eligible for allotment." The petitioner claims himself to be a regular Group A Employee of High Court of Punjab and Haryana working as Secretary and has completed 28 years of service. The grievance of the petitioner is that he has been rendered ineligible to apply in view of Sub Clause (iii) of Clause III as he had earlier been allotted a similar dwelling unit by the Board, which not being suitable to the status of the petitioner, had been sold and transferred with the permission and payment of transfer fee of/to the Board. Hence the present writ petition.
(3.) IN the writ petition, petitioner has stated that he had sold the earlier dwelling unit allotted to him on payment of Rs. 40,000/- transfer fee as it was only a two room dwelling unit. It is further alleged that in the Chandigarh Housing Board (Allotment Management and Sale of Tenements) Regulations, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as "Regulations 1979"), there is no provision to debar a person like the petitioner. However, by incorporating the words "ever" in the impugned sub clause (iii) of Clause III, the respondent- Board has travelled beyond the provisions of Regulations 6(1) of Regulation 1979, which is impermissible in law. It is further averred that as per Regulations 2 (15) of the Regulation 1979, eligible persons, means a person, who is entitled to the purchase of property, in accordance with the provisions of the scheme and these Regulations 2 (26) defines 'scheme' which means a scheme prepared by the Board for the construction of a group of houses for dwelling purposes.;