The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : OF DISCRETION AND ALLOTMENTS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 24, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

OF DISCRETION AND ALLOTMENTS

BY CANCELLING THE allotment of a plot of land to a Calcutta High Court judge in 1987, the Supreme Court has stepped in to undo an instance of the blatant misuse of judicial authority. The judge had ordered a blanket stay on the allotment of land in Kolkata's Salt Lake area to influential people such as his colleagues in the judiciary and high-ranking bureaucrats through the Chief Minister's discretionary quota. Astonishingly, in a matter of a few days — during which he pleaded with the West Bengal Government and secured an allotment for himself — the judge reversed his decision and passed an order in favour of the allottees. The Supreme Court observed while directing that a public auction be held of the bungalow constructed by the judge on the allotted land that his conduct was "beyond condonable limits." While the Court dismissed the plea that plots allotted to 39 others in the Salt Lake area should also be cancelled, the case highlights the larger issue of discretionary quotas, a subject that has come under public scrutiny and received considerable judicial attention in the recent past.

Over the years, Ministers at both the Central and State level have acquired more and more power to distribute largesse through discretionary quotas made available to them. Details of discretionary and out-of-turn allotments made by Ministers in the Government of India, which were submitted in the Supreme Court in the petrol pump case featuring Satish Sharma (Common Cause v. Union of India, AIR 1999), revealed that they covered houses, shops, petrol pumps, gas agencies, railway stalls, Maruti cars, STD booths, telephone connections, college admissions, scholarships, beer licences, bus permits, and many more. The rationale behind such discretionary quotas is that Ministers, and to a limited extent MPs and MLAs, must be given elbow room to provide immediate relief to people who are truly deserving or suffer from acute personal hardship. Discretionary allotments are not a licence to act arbitrarily or as one pleases; as the courts have underlined, they must conform to some rational norm, failing which they are liable to be set aside. Former Union Petroleum Minister Satish Sharma's decision to allot petrol outlets to relatives of his personal staff, members of Oil Selection Boards, and sons of Ministers was declared mala fide and unsustainable by the Supreme Court on the ground that he had failed to deal with the "people's property in a fair and just manner."

The lack of institutionalised or agreed procedures for making discretionary allotments is an important reason for their misuse. In an order passed in the Satish Sharma case, the Court framed detailed guidelines for agencies dealing with petroleum products. These were formulated with the objective of eliminating personal bias and ensuring that quotas were used to benefit those who qualified for them on compassionate grounds. This of course did not prevent a major scandal from breaking out a few years later when it was discovered that relatives of politicians (mainly from the BJP) had cornered the lion's share of petrol pumps and LPG agencies under the regular or non-discretionary allotment scheme. In recent years, the relatively easy availability of such things as telephone connections, gas cylinders, and air and train tickets has reduced the importance of discretionary quotas in some areas. But they continue to be relied upon in other areas as a form of political patronage and even as a form of commerce. The Supreme Court's recent order in the Kolkata case is a reminder of the importance of framing strict guidelines to ensure that the power to make discretionary allotments serves the purpose it was intended for.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

ANOTHER PROMISE TO KEEP

OF DISCRETION AND ALLOTMENTS

"Fast-breeder reactors more important for India"