The court upheld the cancellation of residential site allotments, emphasizing adherence to eligibility criteria and public integrity in administrative actions.

1. Leave granted.

2. These appeals are directed against judgment dated 11.8.2008 of the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court whereby it allowed the writ appeal preferred by the Bangalore Development Authority (for short, the B.D.A.') in the matter of cancellation of the allotment of residential site to appellant, Keshav Baljee and dismissed the one filed by the other appellant, Arjun Baljee against the dismissal of the writ petition filed by him for quashing the order of cancellation of allotment.

3. The appellants are real brothers. In 2002, they applied for allotment of residential sites under the Bangalore Development Authority (Allotment of Sites) Rules, 1984 (for short, "the Rules"). Appellant, Keshav Baljee submitted two applications on 31.5.2002 and 13.12.2002. His brother, Arjun Baljee also submitted applications on 31.2.2002 and 13.12.2002. However, neither of them was successful in getting the allotment. In 2003, they again applied for allotment of residential sites in different areas. Keshav Baljee applied for allotment of site in VIII Block, FE of SMV Nagar and Arjun Baljee applied for allotment of site in BSK IV Stage Layout. Although, copies of the application forms submitted by the appellants in 2002 have not been produced by either party, xerox copies of the application forms submitted in 2003 have been placed on record along with IA No. 2/2010 filed in the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 29519/2008. A perusal of the same shows that both the applications were incomplete inasmuch as the appellants did not give the particulars of their date of birth, age and annual income in column Nos. 9, 10 and 14. The Allotment Committee constituted under R.11(3) of the Rules should have rejected the applications of the appellants only on the ground that the same were defective, but instead of doing that the concerned officers not only entertained and processed the applications, but also allotted residential sites to both the appellants in 2004.

4. Although, at the time of submission of the applications the appellants were students and neither of them had any independent source of income, both of them deposited approximately Rs. 13 lacs as cost of the sites. After about one year, Deputy Secretary of the B.D.A. initiated process for cancellation of the allotments made in favour of the appellants on the ground that neither of them were eligible to get the sites and finally the allotments were cancelled by the Commissioner, B.D.A. vide orders dated 3.8.2005 and 15.9.2005.

5. The appellants challenged the cancellation of allotments in Writ Petition Nos. 24100 of 2005 - Keshav Baljee v. Bangalore Development Authority and 21133 of 2005 - Arjun Baljee v. Bangalore Development Authority. The first writ petition was allowed by the learned Single Judge by a rather cryptic order dated 22.9.2006 but the second writ petition was dismissed by another learned Single Judge vide his order dated 31.7.2007 by relying upon R.11 of the Rules. Paragraphs 8, 9, 14 and 15 of that order, perusal of which show how the appellants succeeded in getting allotment of residential sites in connivance with the officers of the B.D.A. are extracted below:
"8. In the instant case, facts are not in dispute. In Annexure - R.1 - the application filed by the petitioner for allotment of the site by the Bangalore Development Authority, there is a specific column i.e., col. No. 9 for date of birth. Petitioner as a student has deliberately not filled up the said column mentioning the date of birth. Except the said column, all other columns have been meticulously filled up by the petitioner. As it is from the said form, the petitioner has applied for a site on