HC sets aside denial of flats to jhuggi dwellers; says right to housing part of Article 21

Holding that the right to housing formed an intrinsic component of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the rejection of rehabilitation flats to jhuggi dwellers. A Division Bench of the high court observed the petitioner-jhuggi dwellers putting up in Shahpur Colony, Sector 38-West, were recommended for allotment under the Chandigarh Small Flats Scheme, 2006, and the denial of consideration without even issuing notice or granting them a hearing was wholly unsustainable in law.

Allowing their petition, the Bench made it clear that the petitioners, being jhuggi dwellers whose cases had already been recommended by the Estate Officer and the Chandigarh Housing Board, were entitled to a fair adjudication and could not be rejected behind their back.

“It is trite that the right to housing is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the petitioners being jhuggi dwellers have every right to be considered for allotment of a flat under the 2006 Scheme,” the Bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Mandeep Pannu asserted while setting aside the Housing Board’s subsequent order dated September 18.

The petitioners had approached the Court through counsel Amit Jaiswal submitting that their case for allotment of flats under the Scheme was recommended by the Estate Officer and Chandigarh Housing Board vide different communications. However, the Chandigarh Housing Board without issuance of any notice or granting an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners, rejected their claim for allotment of flat under the 2006 Scheme.

Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain with panel counsel Neha Sharma appeared before the Bench, among others, following the issuance of notice on the petition. Referring to the denial of notice and hearing, the Bench held: “The impugned order, which has been passed without affording an opportunity of hearing or issuance of notice to the petitioners is unsustainable and liable to be set aside.”

Setting aside the rejection, the Court directed the Chandigarh Administration and the Housing Board to “consider the claim of the petitioners for allotment of flats under the 2006 Scheme or any other appropriate Scheme for their rehabilitation.” The Bench further ordered that a speaking order be passed within two months of receiving the judgment.

The Court also directed that “the parties shall maintain status quo till the order is passed by the competent authority,” ensuring that no coercive or prejudicial action is taken against the jhuggi dwellers pending fresh consideration.