Lok Prahari through its General Secretary v. The State of Uttar Pradesh
Background
An NGO had earlier persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down 1997 Rules that let former Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers keep government bungalows for life. In 2016, the UP legislature responded by inserting Section 4(3) into the Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981 itself, granting former Chief Ministers the very same lifetime-accommodation entitlement by statute instead of by rule. The same petitioner challenged this fresh provision as unconstitutional.
Decision Breakdown
The Court held that government bungalows are scarce public property meant for current office-holders, and that once a person demits public office, they stand on the same footing as any ordinary citizen: their former office is "a matter of history" and cannot justify a special class of privileged citizens. Applying the equality principle under Article 14 (including the "manifest arbitrariness" test drawn from recent Constitution Bench rulings), the Court found Section 4(3) was essentially a legislative attempt to overreach its own earlier judgment striking down the 1997 Rules, and held it ultra vires the Constitution. The provision was struck down and the writ petition allowed.
Lesson Learnt
Holding a high public office does not create a permanent entitlement to public resources after leaving it: a legislature cannot simply re-enact through statute something the courts have already found violates the equality guarantee.