New Delhi, May 27
Dealing with the question of the eligibility for allotment of oil and LPG dealerships under the employment scheme of the government, the Supreme Court has ruled that the allottee should be a permanent resident of a particular district where the allotment is intended to be made to the unemployed persons.
The ruling came in a case related to the allotment of LPG dealerships in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh to Ms Kamal Abrol, which was challenged on the ground that she was not a permanent resident of the district but had been visiting there casually because her husband had some ancestral property there.
After a protracted legal battle between her and some other applicants since the letter of intent was issued to her by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation in 1988, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in its judgement of August 2002, had held that as per the rules the requirement of the applicants being “residents” of Kangra district was mandatory in nature, but the residential requirement “cannot be held to be that of permanent nature.”
The high court had further held that since the term “residents” include both temporary and permanent residence, Ms Abrol, belonging to Mandi district and married to a man having ancestral property in Kangra, was entitled to get the allotment.
A civil court had allowed a suit by some other applicants against her and cancelled her allotment on the ground that neither her husband nor she had been permanently residing in Kangra district, which she challenged in the high court.
Setting aside the high court order, a Bench comprising Mr Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, Mr Justice G.P. Mathur and Mr Justice P.P. Naolekar said as per the rules laid down by the Oil Selection Board (OSB) for the allotment of dealerships to unemployed persons, the allottee “is required to be a de facto resident of the place from where the dealership licence is to be issued and it is not permissible to have casual connection or temporary residence at that place.”
