Time to do away with discretionary quota and opt for auction of public properties, plots: SC
New Delhi: The day has come to do away with the allotment of public properties and plots under discretionary quota as it leads to "corruption, nepotism and favouritism", the Supreme Court observed on Saturday, advocating their distribution largely through auctions.
The Supreme Court made the observation while setting aside an order of the Orissa High Court closing a criminal case against three government employees accused of conspiring in allotting 10 commercial plots to their family members and relatives in Bhubaneswar.
In a significant verdict, the top court said many a time the guidelines on fair and transparent allotment are hardly followed and "therefore, the best thing is to do away with such discretionary quota and allotments of the public properties/plots must be through public auction by and large."
A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna also said that quashing of a criminal case by high courts should be "an exception rather than any ordinary rule and expressed its unhappiness over passing of such orders without much due diligence.
It was critical of the courts for quashing the criminal cases without due diligence and said closing of a complaint or an FIR should be an exception rather than any ordinary rule and the courts in exercise of such a wide power should be more cautious as they are not required to go into the merits of the allegations at initial stages.
The bench allowed the appeal of the state government against the quashing of criminal proceedings against the three accused who were working with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) — Pratima Mohanty, S Prakash Chandra Patra and Rajendra Kumar Samal — in the 2005 case. The then state minister Samer Dey is also facing trial in the matter.
It held that the allegations against the accused are very serious, including hatching a criminal conspiracy in allotment of 10 plots in the discretionary quota arbitrarily and to their own family members or relatives.
