SC asks former UP CMs to vacate bungalows but spares ‘Trusts’

The Supreme Court order asking six former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh to vacate the government bungalows after demitting offices has come as a shocker for political parties but the order is silent on the “trusts”, formed by family members of these political leaders, which occupy of the government bungalows.

Former IAS Officer SN Shukla, of Lok Prahari, on whose petition the Supreme Court had asked former CMs to vacate the bungalows said that the Court’s order is silent on the trusts. “The Apex Court has quashed the section 4(3) of UP Ministers (Salaries,
Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment Bill), 2016, which only talks about occupancy of government bungalows by former CMs,” Shukla said.

Shukla said that in Section 4(1) (a) of the Act that pertains to 'Minister' including Chief Minister to retain his residence for 15 days after he/she demits his/her office. “The Government in 2016 brought amendments in the Act to circumvent Supreme Court directives,” he said.

The Trusts, which are also operating from the Government bungalows, have escaped Court’s scrutiny in its directives of May 7, 2018. But in its order of August 1, 2016, the Apex Court had directed that “ … regarding allotment of bungalow to private trusts or societies, it is not in dispute that all those accommodations were allotted to them at the time when there was no provision to allot government bungalows to them.

“.. Therefore, in our opinion, the said allotment cannot be held to be justified. One should remember here that public property cannot be disposed of in favour of any one without adequate consideration. Allotment of government property to someone without adequate market rent, in absence of any special statutory provision, would also be bad in law because the state has no right to fritter away government property in favour of private persons or bodies without adequate consideration and therefore, all such allotments, which have been made in absence of any statutory provision cannot be upheld,” it said.

Shukla said that he will consult his lawyers and then decide about the future action about trusts. There are three important trusts operating from Government bungalows that include Lohia Trust, Vir Bahadur Singh Trust and a trust run by BJP leader Kusum Rai.

However, in the UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment Bill), 2016, amendment bill brought by the Akhilesh Yadav government, the then SP government had added a clause by which allotment of  a bungalow to a trust would be made for a maximum period of five years and the renewal for a further period of five years.