CHANDIGARH HOUSING BOARD V GURMEET SINGH CASE SUMMARY

CHANDIGARH HOUSING BOARD V. GURMEET SINGH

AIR 2002 SC 587

FACTS

The Chandigarh Housing Board (Board) was constituted under the Haryana Housing Board Act, extended to Chandigarh. The Board's functions include developing land and constructing houses/flats for sale to the general public.
In 1986, the Board floated a housing scheme for general public allotment of category I, II, and III flats. Eligibility conditions required applicants to be either domiciles of Chandigarh or bona fide residents for at least three years.
On March 3, 1987, the respondent applied for a category I flat, claiming to be a domicile of Chandigarh but did not provide details regarding his residence period in Chandigarh.
On October 20, 1989, the Board allotted a second-floor flat to the respondent based on his claim of domicile.
The Board asked the respondent to submit a domicile certificate, but he provided a residential certificate instead, along with other documents which did not satisfy the Board.
On November 17, 1993, the Board issued a show-cause notice to the respondent for not proving his domicile status, eventually cancelling the flat allotment on May 16, 1997.
The respondent challenged this cancellation in the High Court, which ruled in his favour, holding that the residential certificate proved his eligibility.
The Board appealed against this High Court decision.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent was eligible for the flat allotment based on his claim of being a domicile of Chandigarh, despite not furnishing a domicile certificate.

RULE

Regulation 6 of the Chandigarh Housing Board (Allotment, Management and Sale of Tenements) Regulations, 1976, stipulates that applicants must be domiciles of Chandigarh or bona fide residents for at least three years.
Applicants must provide an affidavit of eligibility, and false affidavits can lead to cancellation of allotment.
In Pradeep Jain and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors., the Supreme Court distinguished between the technical and popular meanings of domicile. The technical meaning refers to a permanent home with legal implications, while the popular meaning denotes residing in a place indefinitely with an intent to live there for a significant period. The Court emphasized applying the popular meaning for practical purposes like educational admissions to ensure fairness.

HELD

The respondent's application stated he was a domiciled in Chandigarh but left the bona fide residency period blank.
The respondent repeatedly failed to provide a domicile certificate as requested by the Board.
The High Court erred in accepting a residential certificate as proof of domicile without proper verification.
The term "domicile" should be understood in its popular sense as a permanent or indefinite residence, not in a technical legal sense.
The High Court misapplied the distinction made in Pradeep Jain’s Case, treating a residential certificate as sufficient proof of domicile without verifying permanent residence, leading to an erroneous conclusion.
The Supreme Court found that the respondent did not meet the eligibility criteria under the domicile requirement since he failed to provide a domicile certificate.
The High Court's judgment was set aside, and the Board's cancellation of the flat allotment was upheld.
The respondent was given the opportunity to apply for a domicile certificate, and if granted, the Board should reconsider his allotment application.

COMMENTARIES NOTE

For the acquisition of domicile of choice, it must be shown that the person concerned had a certain state of mind, the “animus manendi”. If he claims that he acquired a new domicile at a particular time, he must prove that he had formed the intention of making his permanent home in the country of residence and of continuing to reside there permanently. Residence alone, unaccompanied by this state of mind is insufficient.
Domicile of choice is that every person of full age to free to acquire in substitution for that which he possesses at the time of choice. By domicile is meant a permanent home. Domicile means the place, which a person has fixed as a habitation for himself and his family not for a mere special and temporary purpose, but with a present intention of making it his permanent home. Domicile of choice is thus a result of choice.

CHANDIGARH HOUSING BOARD V. GURMEET SINGH AIR 2002 SC 587