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Ashok Kumar Mittal v. Maruti Udyog Ltd. And Another
Factual and Procedural Background
The petitioners approached the Court challenging existing practices concerning allotment of Maruti vehicles from the manufacturer’s discretionary quota of five per cent. The Court heard Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee, Mr. Prashant Bhushan and Mr. R. Karanjawala for the petitioners, and the learned Attorney-General for the respondents. After “considerable discussion” of various proposals, the Court determined that, in the public interest, formal guidelines were required to regulate such allotments and proceeded to issue them through the present order. All interim orders previously issued in the matter were simultaneously addressed.
Legal Issues Presented
- What guidelines should govern the allotment of Maruti vehicles out of the manufacturer’s discretionary quota of five per cent?
Arguments of the Parties
The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.
Table of Precedents Cited
No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court’s reasoning is primarily policy-oriented and grounded in public interest. The analytical steps can be distilled as follows:
- Need for Regulation: After evaluating the submissions, the Court concluded that unregulated discretionary allotments could lead to arbitrariness; hence a structured framework was necessary.
- Identification of Eligible Categories: The Court enumerated exhaustive categories entitled to receive vehicles from the five-per-cent quota, covering:
- State entities under Article 12.
- Hospitals, recognised charitable organisations and educational institutions with statutory registration or Section 80-G recognition.
- Specific individuals, including physically handicapped persons below a defined income threshold, high constitutional functionaries, senior public servants, senior armed-forces officers, component manufacturers (limited to ten per year), Maruti Udyog Ltd. employees (limited to fifty per year), individuals recognised for outstanding humanitarian service (ten per year), hardship cases (five per year), and applicants whose forms were rejected because of genuine error.
- Conditions Imposed: To curb misuse, the Court prescribed:
- No resale for three years, backed by a written undertaking and a clause in the allotment order.
- No second allotment from the manufacturer’s quota to the same individual.
- “First-come-first-served” processing, with a supervised draw of lots when multiple applications are received on the same day within the same category.
- Clarification of Exclusions: Allotments for military or para-military purposes and export orders were expressly excluded from counting toward the five-per-cent quota.
- Temporal Scope & Review: The guidelines are to remain operative for three years, subject to review based on prevailing circumstances at that time.
Holding and Implications
HOLDING: The Court promulgated binding guidelines regulating allotment of Maruti vehicles from the manufacturer’s five-per-cent quota, vacated all general interim orders (while confirming deliveries already made under them), and granted liberty to apply for further directions.
Implications: The decision immediately standardises discretionary allotments, restricting eligibility and imposing anti-misuse conditions for a three-year period. It affects both Maruti Udyog Ltd. and potential applicants by providing a transparent framework, but it does not establish a broader constitutional precedent beyond the specific context of regulating this particular quota.
Order
1. We have heard Mr Soli J. Sorabjee, Mr Prashant Bhushan and Mr R. Karanjawala for the petitioners and the learned Attorney General on behalf of the respondents. Various submissions were made on behalf of the parties. After considerable discussion of the various proposals and suggestions made by parties and after having given our anxious and deep consideration to the matter it is ordered that in public interest the following guidelines should regulate the allotment of Maruti vehicles out of the manufacturers' quota of 5 per cent.
2. The allotment of Maruti vehicles out of the manufacturers' quota of five per cent will be made in favour of the following categories only:
“I. Any organisation/institution coming within the definition of ‘state’ under Article 12 of the Constitution of India.
II. Any hospital or recognised charitable organisation or educational institutions registered or incorporated under a statute or having recognition under Section 80-G of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961.
III. Individuals—
(a) An individual suffering from physical handicap so asto render him incapable of using public transport would be eligible for allotment provided his income together with the income of his or her spouse or his or her guardian does not exceed Rs 60,000 per year.
(b) The President of India, Vice-President of India, Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State in the Union Cabinet and Governors of States and Cabinet Ministers in State Governments, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner, the Auditor and Comptroller General of India and the Attorney-General of India.
(c) The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Speakers of State Legislative Assemblies, chairpersons of State Legislative Councils, and leaders of Opposition parties in Parliament and in the State legislatures.
(d) The Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice and other Judges of the High Courts.
(e) Public servants not below the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
(f) Serving members of the Armed Forces not below the rank of Brigadier in the Army or equivalent rank in the Navy or the Air Force.
(g) Manufacturers of component parts for utilisation in the manufacture of Maruti vehicles. The number of this category will be restricted to ten per year.
(h) Employees of Maruti Udyog Ltd., limited to fifty vehicles per year.
(i) Individuals in recognition of their outstanding humanitarian services to the society or to the Nation. The number in this category will be restricted to ten per year.
(j) Individual cases of undue hardship on humanitarian grounds. The number in this category will be restricted to five per year.”
IV. Error category i.e individuals whose applications for regular allotment could not be registered on account of any genuine error.
3. The following conditions will be strictly observed in the allotment of vehicles to any organisation/institution, person or individual in any of the aforesaid categories:
“(a) There will be no resale of the vehicle by the allottee for a period of three years.
This condition will be inserted in the order of allotment issued in favour of the allottee. Maruti Udyog Ltd. will further obtain before giving delivery of the vehicle a written undertaking from the allottee that he will not sell the vehicle for a period of three years from the date of delivery.
(b) There will be no second allotment out of the manufacturers' quota to the same individual.
(c) In each of the aforesaid categories allotment, as far as possible, will be made on first come first served basis in accordance with the date of the receipt of the application for allotment out of the aforesaid manufacturers' quota. In cases where more than one application is received on the same day from individuals in the same category, priority of allotment in such cases will be determined by draw of lots under proper supervision.
4. It is clarified that allotments made for military/para-military purposes and against firm export orders for supply outside of India, will not be included within 5 per cent of the manufacturers' quota.
5. These guide-lines will be in force for a period of three years and will be subject to review taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances which may exist at that point of time.
6. In view of the aforesaid guide-lines, we think, it is unnecessary for us to determine the various submissions and contentions raised on behalf of the parties which are, however, left open.
7. All general interim orders are vacated. However, deliveries made pursuant to our interim orders will stand.
8. Liberty to apply.”
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