State, local bodies, and public authorities are duty bound to act in accordance with the rules and regulations framed or adopted by it. If its action smacks of arbitrariness, discrimination, and mala fides, it is open to challenge and subject to judicial review.

Shacheendra Dwivedi, J.

1. The petitioner has approached this Court complaining of being arbitrarily and illegally deprived of the allotment of house No. 10 in the town of Morena covered under the Hire-purchase Scheme, for middle-income-group of respondent No. 2, M. P. Housing Board (for short the Board), published in the year 1979, on first-come-first-served basis. The Board aims at providing residential facilities to needy and desirous persons no-profit-no-loss basis.

2. Keeping in view the acute housing problem in the State, M. P. Housing Board has been constituted by the State and it has undertaken the work of construction of dwelling units for people belonging to different income groups. In the year 1979, respondent No. 2, invited applications from persons desirous of taking constructed houses under the scheme requiring individuals to deposit Rs. 3000/- for the registration. In case of Government employees, such requirement as to deposit was reduced to 50% and as such they were required to deposit Rs. 1500/- only.

3. The petitioner being State employee deposited Rs. 1500/- on 24-8-1979, vide Annexure P-2. In the year 1984, the petitioner received the allotment order (Annexure P-3), informing him that house No. 17 has been allotted to him under the Scheme. The petitioner thereon moved the Board that some persons who were not covered under the Scheme, nor so registered have been allotted house Nos. 1 to 4 under special quota. There is no provision of special quota and such quota was neither notified nor was available. It was further submitted by the petitioner to the Board that M.I.G. house No. 10 had not been allotted to anyone and was available for allotment. As such, the petitioner vide Annexure P-4, dated 20-11-1984, requested the Board to allot him house No. 10. But the Board by its letter dated 12-12-1984, Annexure P-5, refused to allot the house No. 10 to the petitioner stating that house No. 10 stood already allotted under President's special quota while house Nos. 7, 8 and 9 were available for allotment only on payment of full price in advance.

4. On the above statement made by the Board, the petitioner got misled. Having applied in the year 1979, the petitioner did not get a house of his choice till 1986, although his name was at serial No. 1 in the priority list. So when subsequently another scheme, known as 'HUDCO Scheme', was published by the Board for Morena in the year 1986, the petitioner applied under that scheme too obviously compelled by the circumstances. He deposited in all an amount of Rs. 22,600/- in instalment on different dates with the Board.

5. Thereafter, it came to be known to the petitioner that in fact house No. 10 had not been allotted to anyone till then and further that steps were being taken to allot the same to one of the individuals of the Board's favour. Therefore petitioner filed this petition and also prayed for the grant of ad interim writ which was allowed on 24-5-1990.

6. In this petition, now the petitioner submits that the action of the Board, refusing to allot house No. 10 to him on false pretext, is illegal, discriminatory and arbitrary. The petitioner has challenged the bona fides of the action. The petitioner claims allotment of house No. 10, now being placed at serial No. 1 of the priority list and the house being available for allotment, by invoking jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India.

7. When in November 1984, the petitioner by Annexure P-4 sought allotment of house No. 10 from the Board, claiming allotment on priority basis, stating that the house was vacant and available as was not allotted to any one, at that time it was very specifically stated by the Board vide Annexure P-5 that :

^^mijksDr fo"k; esa vkidks lwfpr fd;k tk ldrk gS fd vkius fnukad 30&11&84 dks i= fn;k Fkk fd vki Hkou kad 10 ,e- vkbZ- th-] eqjSuk esa fufeZr dks ysus dh bPNk O;Dr dh gSA Hkou kad 10 v/;{kh; va'k ls vkoaVu fd;k tk pqdk gSA pwafd Hkou kad 7] 8] 9 esa iw