In Brief
Lok Prahari, a registered NGO, challenged Section 4(3) of the Uttar Pradesh Ministers Act, 1981, which grants lifetime government accommodation to former Chief Ministers. The Supreme Court held the provision violates Article 14 (equality) of the Constitution. Once officials demit office, they rank equally with ordinary citizens, and previous office cannot justify special privileges or differentiated treatment. Public property belongs to the people and must be distributed fairly without arbitrariness. The Court struck down the provision, finding it created an unconstitutional separate class of citizens based on irrelevant considerations, and noted the 2016 amendment appeared designed to circumvent its earlier judgment invalidating similar 1997 Rules.
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