The housing woes of Supreme Court judges may be over in the not too distant future. A beginning has been made in that direction with the Directorate of Estates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs informing the Registrar of the Supreme Court of India that a Type VIII General Pool Bungalow has been placed at its disposal for allotment to judges of the apex court awaiting official accommodation. The bungalow that has been added to the SC housing pool is situated at 1 Moltilal Nehru Marg, close to Vigyan Bhavan.
“I am directed to inform that it has been decided by the Competent Authority to place general Pool Type VIII Bungalow No 1 Motilal nehru Marg, New Delhi in the Supreme Court Judges Pool for specific allotment top Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court.
It is therefore requested to send recommendation for allotment of this bungalow ….after vacation of the bungalow”, the Estates office wrote to the SC Registrar.
India Legal had last month reported that more than four months after they were sworn in, four judges—– former Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice V. Ramasubramanian, former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Krishna Murari, former Rajasthan Chief Justice S.A. Ravindra Bhat and former Kerala Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy—– have not got official accommodation and continue to work out of state guest houses.
A day after their elevation to the Supreme Court was announced, the court registry announced that two new court rooms have been created within the premises. But months later, they are still waiting for official accommodation. At least a start has been made now.