The Hindu : Front Page : Court directive to Ministry on VIP bungalows

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Thursday, Sep 07, 2006

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Court directive to Ministry on VIP bungalows

Legal Correspondent

No allotment of three vacant Type VIII bungalows without its permission

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union Urban Development Ministry not to allot any of the three vacant Type VIII bungalows meant for Union Ministers, top bureaucrats and Supreme Court judges in Delhi without its permission.

A three-judge Bench of the Court comprising Justice B. N. Agrawal, Justice P. P. Naolekar and Justice L. S. Panta passed the order on a case relating to non-allotment of accommodation to the Chairman of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.

Three of the 26 vacant bungalows in the Supreme Court judges' pool here in the Capital — No. 1 and No. 4 Kamaraj Lane and No.11 Thyagaraja Marg — were considered unsuitable by the Court for allotment to judges and the Centre was requested to provide alternative accommodation.

The Centre informed the Registrar-General of the Court that it would provide to the apex court pool the bungalow at No. 4 Akbar Road in lieu of the one at 11 Thyagaraja Marg, and accordingly the Akbar Road bungalow was allotted to the Chairman of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.

Counsel for the Union Urban Development Ministry, S.W.A. Quadri, told the Court about the Akbar Road bungalow being brought under the Supreme Court pool.

About substitution for the other two bungalows, the Bench directed the Ministry to file an affidavit within four weeks.

Najma Heptullah, Rajya Sabha member, filed an application seeking four weeks' time to vacate her 4 Akbar Road bungalow on the ground that the bungalow allotted to her at No. 16 Teen Murti Lane was not yet ready.

Taking note of this, the Bench directed the Cabinet Secretary to ensure that the bungalow at 16 Teen Murti Lane was ready for occupation by September 10, the earlier time limit fixed by the Court.

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