ORDER
Dr. Mukundakam Sharma, J.
1. As the facts and the question arising for my determination in these writ petitions are similar. I propose to dispose of all these writ petitions by this common judgment/order.
2. The petitioners herein are/were working as Junior and Senior Residents in four different hospitals namely – Maulana Azad Medical College, G.B. Pant Hospital, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Guru Nanak Eye Centre, which are being run by the Government of NCT of Delhi. The grievance of the petitioners is that according to the Residency Scheme issued by the Central Government under its letter dated 5.6.1992 the petitioners are entitled to free furnished accommodation in addition to the house rent allowance (HRA). Accordingly the prayer in the writ petitions is that the respondents should be directed not to deduct house rent allowance from the respective salaries of the petitioners as the said action is unlawful, illegal and arbitrary.
3. Counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are provided only a hostel accommodation in the name of allotment of a free furnished accommodation and that also at their own interest towards proper and efficient patient care. The said facility consists of only one room facility in the hostel. Submission is that the respondents have provided the hostel accommodation to the petitioners at their own interest within the vicinity of the hospital so that the petitioners can immediately attend the patients admitted in their respective hospitals in various wards without any loss of time and this exigency makes it obligatory upon the respondents to provide hostel accommodation to all the petitioners irrespective of being Senior Resident or Junior Resident doctors and on that count the respondents cannot deprive the petitioners from getting the benefit of the house rent allowance which is available to them under the provisions of the Residency Scheme.
4. Counsel appearing for the respondents however, submitted that according to the Residency Scheme the Junior & Senior Residents are entitled to allowances like dearness allowance, CCA and HRA as per Government orders and when the petitioners are provided with free furnished accommodation, free electricity and water within reasonable limits by the Government, the petitioners are not entitled to claim payment of any house rent allowance. In this connection reliance was placed on the Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules as also the Government orders dated 19.2.1987. Reliance was also placed by the counsel appearing for the respondents on the undertaking given by the petitioners at the time of allotment of accommodation that they would be entitled to the HRA only according to the rules. It was also submitted by him that in case both the facilities as directed to be provided to the petitioners namely – free furnished accommodation within the hospital premises and also house rent allowance the same would create complications, for in that case the doctors who could not be provided with free furnished accommodation within the hospital premises, and are being given the benefit of house rent allowance would also claim allowances for not being provided with free furnished hostel accommodation.
5. I have considered the rival submissions of the counsel appearing for the parties and have considered the records placed before me. The Government of India introduced the Residency Scheme in replacement of the system of House Surgeons, Postgraduate students and Registrars in Central Institutions/Hospitals. The said scheme is dated 22.4.1974. The said scheme was also adopted by the State Government for its four hospitals in Delhi. The said scheme provides for recruitment of Junior Resident and Senior Resident doctors. Paragraph 4 provides the rate of emoluments which is to be paid to such Junior Resident and Senior Resident Doctors. Paragraph 5 provides for payment of allowances to such of the doctors namely Junior Residents and Senior Residents. It is also provided that Junior and Senior Residents would be entitled to dearness allowance, CCA and HRA as per Government Orders on the subject on the basis of their monthly emoluments. Paragraph 11 thereof provides that the Resident doctors will be provided with free furnished accommodation, free electricity and water within reasonable limits as may be fixed by the Government from time to time. Paragraph 13 thereof states that continuous active duty for resident doctors will not normally exceed 12 hours per day and that subject to exigencies of work the resident doctors would be allowed one weekly holiday by rotation. The resident doctors are also require to be on call duty not exceeding 12 hours at a time.
6. Relying on the said provisions the counsel for the petitioners submitted that since the said doctors are to be available in the hospital for 12 hours per day and are also required to be on call duty not exceeding 12 hours at a time they are necessarily to be provided with free furnished accommodation within the hospital premises so that the services of the petitioners could be taken in terms of the aforesaid provisions in the scheme. According to him a free furnished accommodation is necessarily to be provided to the resident doctors with free electricity and water within reasonable limits as may be fixed by the Government from time to time in exigencies of service and since the scheme also envisages payment of HRA in terms of the extant rules even though such free furnished accommodation is provided to the petitioners they are also entitled to payment of HRA in terms of the Residency Scheme.
7. I have given my anxious consideration to the aforesaid submission which at first blush appears to be attractive. However, when the same is considered in the light of the facts and the records the first impression does not register as the last impression. It cannot be disputed that all the Junior and Senior Resident Doctors can not be provided with free furnished accommodation within the hospital premises in view of the shortage of accommodation and non-availability of sufficient number of such accommodations. Consequently, some of the doctors have taken their own accommodation outside the hostel premises but within the vicinity of the Hospital premises. Since some of the doctors similarly situated as the petitioners could not be provided with free furnished accommodation within the hostel premises, they would also be entitled to claim certain benefits in terms of money in addition to payment of house rent allowance for failure of the respondents to provide such accommodation to the said doctors in case the reliefs as claimed in the writ petition are granted. None of the rules or the government instructions/circulars provides for payment of such benefit to the said doctors. Therefore, the provisions of the scheme shall have to be given a reasonable and harmonious construction. By virtue of the provisions of rule 11 most of the petitioners are availing of the facility of the free furnished accommodation with free electricity and water. Therefore, in view of para 5(iii) of the aforesaid scheme wherein it is specifically laid down that house rent allowance would be admissible only as per the government orders, it would be necessary to look into what the Government orders have to say in that regard.
8. The aforesaid position is also clear as because the petitioners have also given an undertaking at the time of allotment of free furnished accommodation that they are entitled to HRA only according to the Rules. The Government of India has issued a circular which is dated 9.2.1987. The said circular states that the person who is availing the facility of free furnished accommodation would not be entitled to receive the benefit of HRA. In this context reference may also be made to the instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, wherein it is provided as follows:-
“Female Government servants residing in the Western House Hostel and the Working Girls’ Hostel, Delhi or elsewhere in Government run hostels are not entitled to House Rent Allowance. Government Servants living in hostels run by Autonomous and semi-Government Organisations, which are not run on commercial lines (i.e. Central Government employees allotted hostel accommodation are not charged market rent, but a subsidized rent) would not be entitled to House Rent Allowance.”
9. Since the provisions of the Residency Scheme in clear terms stated that Junior and Senior Residents shall be entitled to House Rent Allowance as per Government Orders on the subject on the basis of the emoluments, the aforesaid Government circulars would be clearly applicable on the issue raised by the petitioners herein. The aforesaid Government Orders and circulars referred to above make it crystal clear that the persons governed by it would not be entitled to the benefit of payment of HRA who occupy accommodation provided to them by the Government. The intention in the said circulars are clear and unambiguous. No government servant availing of a government accommodation can claim house rent allowance. If the petitioners have availed of the benefit of free furnished accommodation of whatever nature they cannot be paid house rent allowance. The petitioners are also bound by the Undertaking given by them at the time of allotment of the free furnished accommodation that they would be entitled to the HRA only according to the Rules.
10. When the entire facts and circumstances are taken notice of, it appears to me that the petitioners would not be entitled to HRA when they are being allotted with free furnished accommodation. None of the petitioners who were provided with the free furnished accommodation and free electricity and water was given the benefit of the house rent allowance from the date of their joining as Junior Resident or Senior Resident Doctor as the case may be.
11. Under the aforesaid circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that no relief as sought for by the petitioners could be granted to them in these writ petitions. The writ petitions are found to be without merit and are dismissed. There will be no order as to costs.