Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 23: High Court today dismissed the plea of three retired employees of State Bank of India (SBI) seeking retention of Government flats which were allotted to them by the bank during their service tenure and directed them to hand over the possession of flats to the authorities within one month.
The petitioners have retired as Chief Manager on 31.05.2016, Manager on 30.04.2018 and Deputy Manager on 30.09.2016 and as employees of the Bank, they were allotted residential accommodation and presently their grievance is that the authorities in order to oust them have illegally started charging rent at commercial rate from their pension accounts on account of retention of flats by them.
They contended before the court that they are migrants and have suffered the calamity which struck in 1990, due to which the minority community of the Kashmiri Pandit migrated from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu and various other States and in that the State as well the Central Government have allotted residential accommodation to those migrant employees, who were forced to leave Kashmir by abandoning their moveable and immoveable property.
They submit that they do not have any other residential accommodation available with them, therefore, they have no choice but to reside in the accommodation provided by the respondent-bank as such were seeking direction to the respondent-authorities to allow them to occupy the flats allotted to them by the respondents till the appropriate policy for allotment of residential accommodation to Kashmiri Migrants is framed.
The respondent-bank while opposing the contention raised by the petitioners submit that they are not entitled to invoke extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Court as they have not approached this Court with clean hands.
It is stated by the bank that they have availed housing loan from State Bank of India and the flats were allotted to them as they were employees of the Bank and not because of their being migrants. In terms of the said Rules and Regulations of the Bank, a retiree can avail the benefit only for the permissible period of two months after retirement and thereafter they were charged commercial rent for the same.
The bank contended that any retention beyond the permitted period would be dealt with as per instructions like recovery of commercial rent. Since the petitioners have not vacated the premises as per the guidelines, they were being charged commercial rent.
Court said the petitioners, thus, do not hold any indefeasible right for allotment of Government accommodation. The Government accommodation is meant for serving officers and not for the retirees.
“There is no merit in this petition; the same is, accordingly, dismissed along with connected applications. However, considering the fact that all petitioners are retired employees, as such, 30 days time is granted to them to vacate and handover the possession of the flats to the respondents-authorities”, Justice Sindhu Sharma directed.
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