...Judging the Judges --Needy deprived of housing?

Even as the genuine members--the needy and poor--continued waiting for the allottment of sites, Judges, in violation of several laws got their sites allotted.         image copyright: biobreak.wordpress.com











Continuting the series––Judging the Judges––the authors, Chethan and Sandeep bring to you the details of other violations of law these judges have indulged in in a bid to avail sites from the said society.
 
Barring the basic violation of ineligibity that was discussed in the previous report, it is found that these people have at least three more violations.
But before we venture into those details it is noteworthy that these judges, some of who have heard cases for and against other house building co-operative societies, have breached the very spirit of co-operative societies.
 
That housing societies get lands under concessional rates to serve the poor and the needy is not something these people are unaware of. Yet, call it greed or disregard, they vie for a pie of land that must belong to the deservant, who are in real need of such housing.
 
According to a Supreme Court observation (in Ishwar Nagar society versus Parma Nand Sharma, last year): “Co-operative societies are the best system which can suit the needs of poor and weaker sections…Thus, the cooperative societies like the present one which seek to obtain the land at concessional rate from the government and to build houses must necessarily have a limitation in that only members who are in real need of houses should be permitted to become members and to take the benefit of land allotment.”
 
And in a city where land prices are kissing the skies, deprivation of housing to the needy middle class is unpardonable. What one needs to note is that these sites were allotted at shocking rates: ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 240 per sq ft between 1994 and 2006. Land prices in this period were never below 1,000 per sq ft even in the mid-1990s.


The violations: 


Clause 10(A) of the society bye-laws prescribe that a member be ineligible for site allottment if her/he or even her/his family own other residential properties in Bangalore. And it also prevents multiple allottments of sites.
But throwing the rules out of the window, many judges, who owned residential properties prior to the allotment have availed sites from the society, even as the genuine members of the society waited endlessly for their allotment. This according to Justice Saldana is serious a transgression.
 
Those in violation of Section 10 (a) include Retired Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha member, M Rama Jois, sitting SC judge H L Dattu, M N Venkatachalaiah, Retired Supreme Court Judge and former Karnataka Lokayukta Shivaraj V Patil, and Retired Supreme Court Judge R V Raveendran, amongst others.
 
Some of the judges have also violated Claus-10 (B) of the bye-laws which states that members should have spent at least five years working in the Judicial Department. The ‘territorial jurisdiction’, at the time of allottment was limited to BDA limits.
 
Those in violation of this law include Retired Supreme Court judge G T Nanavati (who headed the Commission of Inquiry into the post-Godhra riots), Retired Supreme Court Judges S Mohan and P Venkatarama Reddi, and sitting Supreme Court Judge Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, amongst others.


Also, each sale deed states that a site allottee must not sell the site within 10 years from its    purchase aimed at preventing commercial use of the property. However, several judges have since sold the properties allotted to them at prices several times higher than the price at which they bought it, thereby making profits. The sale deed also stipulates that the site owners construct houses within two years of purchase. Several sites still lie vacant, probably anticipating a rise in the value of the land. More than 70 per cent of the Judges have violated these conditions.



Reactions from some of the key people:

Registrar of Co-operative Societies, while expressing concern over all the reported violations in the housing societies, Hegde said: “...We have taken notice of the matter and an inquiry is in the process, we will take suitable action if the inquiry shows discrepancies in the functioning of the society.”

Sippe Gowda, President of KSJDE HBCS said: “There are several reports that have  been brought to my notice. Most of these allocations happened before my term. The matter is rightly before the court now and I (society) will take appropriate action as directed by the court.”

K Narayanaswamy, Director of Co-operative Audit, Government ofKarnataka, while acknowledging that there could be irregularities said: “Where there is money and land there are complaints. But I do not have powers to take suo moto action. If any one of the members officially files a complaint or petition before us we will take action.”

Y Umesh, Prinicpal Secretary Co-operative Department, who is currently out of town, reacting to the matter said: “There are contentions and that is why there is an inquiry. Once that report is complete, suitable action will follow.”