Allotment Of Public Properties On The Basis Of Discretionary Quota Has To Be Done Away With: SC

• In the recent judgement of State of Odisha vs. Pratima Mohan Ray LL 2021 SC the Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that the time has come to do away with the allotment of properties on the basis of discretionary quota.
• On 11th December, the bench comprising Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna observed that the allotment must be fair, transparent and non-arbitrary.
• In the present case, allegations against certain public servants occupying crucial positions in Bhubaneshwar Development Authority and in the Housing and Urban Development Department, Govt. of Odisha, were that they had distributed prime plots in the Commercial Complex District Centre, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneshwar. They were accused of committing an offence under section 120B of the IPC and section 13(2) read with section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Allowing the petition under section 482 of CrPC, the Hon’ble High Court had quashed their FIR.
• In appeal, the Apex Court observed that the allegations are against use of power with malafide intentions and allotment of plots to family members at a throwaway price, causing loss to the BDA and the public exchequer.
• The Court observed that “ allotment of public properties must be transparent and has to be fair and non arbitrary. In such matters public interest only has to be the prime guiding consideration in order to get the best price so that it may serve the public purpose and public interest so as to avoid loss to the authority and to the public exchequer.
• The Court also observed that the discretion of the democratic government in selecting the recipient for it’s largeness must be exercised “objectively, rationally, intelligibly, fairly, and in a non arbitrary manner”. The Hon’ble Court further observed that even in the presence of guidelines which are issued to be followed for the allotment of the plots under the discretionary quota , it is found that many a times they are hardly followed or are manipulated. Therefore “the best thing to do is to do away with such discretionary quota and allotments of public properties/plots must be through public auction by and large”.

Let’s see if you can answer the following question-

Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code talks about________.