In Brief
A registered society challenged a 2016 amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers Act that allowed former Chief Ministers lifetime government accommodation. The Supreme Court struck down this provision as violating the constitutional equality guarantee (Article 14). The Court held that once public officials demit office, they cannot be classified as a special category entitled to lifelong public property. Government bungalows are scarce public resources that belong to all citizens and must be allocated according to principles of equality and fairness, not based on previous office held. The provision was manifestly arbitrary and failed both the test of reasonable classification and the test against arbitrariness, making it unconstitutional.
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