Y. Vijaya Geetha and ors. Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by Special Officer, Social Welfare Department and ors. - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
- - 28 lakhs with the sole intention of providing better amenities to the working women who are seeking admission in this hostel. it is only intended to provide better amen1ities to the working women. the main complaint of the petitioners is that all these petitioners are working women who flock to cities seeking avocation and having secured some job either in private or government offices, in the absence of any kith and kin, they prefer a secured place like the working women's hostel being managed by the government as well as the private organisations. it is also contended that most of the they are maintaining themselves but also equipping themselves with better career-oriented courses. no doubt, a five star hospital like apollo does exist in that area, it is contended that such hospitals are not meant for these categories of persons who can ill-afford to get themselves treated in such five star hospitals. 28 lakhs for construction of the present hostel building at jubilee hills only with the intention to mitigate the hardships faced by the inmates and to provide better amenities, and if the inmates failed to occupy the said premises, the same would go waste. at para 10 of the counter, it has been categorically stated that if the petitioner are not satisfied with the amenities which are likely to be provided in the new hostel building at jubilee hills owned by the government, these petitioners are free to vacate the same and are at liberty to join any other hostel of their choice. and yet this court is called upon to examine whether the present accommodation, intended for working women, is better suited taking into consideration the security, conveyance and other facilities. 10. the intention of the respondents in providing a better building to house the working women's hostel at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad with better amenities to the inmates, is no doubt appreciable, yet, the practical difficulties the inmates would face have to be examined if they are asked to shift from the present hostel at nampally which is located in central area, to jubilee hills. the petitioners-like working women who flock to cities seeking avocation may succeed in getting jobs, in either government or private offices would face the problem of securing appropriate accommodation as they have to lead a single life. this apart, nampally area is also surrounded by central government as well as state government offices and also few colleges. the submissions at para 10 of the counter filed by the respondents that if the petitioners are not satisfied with better amenities which are to be provided in the new hostel building owned by the government, they are free to vacate the same and seek accommodation in other institutions of their choice, is not in good taste as the government cannot come up with such stand. after all, a wing of the government is managing these buildings and if the wing of the government is not prepared to accommodate the inmates according to their requirement, who else could be the better person to cater to the needs of these working women? may be after few years, the entire area may get well developed, frequency of the buses may increase. it is needless to mention that the building which has come up by spending huge amount could very well be utilised by the respondents for other purposes and it is not the case of the respondents that the new building at jubilee hills cannot be utilised for other purpose than the purpose for which it is constructed. the respondents shall bear in mind that any difficulties being faced by the inmates could be remedied by making alterations in the present building with the permission of the owner of the building and provide better amenities to the inmates.motilal b. naik, j.1. these petitioners numbering 37 claim to be working women are inmates of the government working women's hostel, 5-4-506, kattalmandi, nampally, hyderabad.2. a circular dated 12-7-1994 was issued by the respondents requiring the petitioners to get ready with their luggage enabling the respondents to shift these petitioners to a newly constructed building for working women at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad. having aggrieved by the said circular issued by the respondents contemplating to shift the working women's hostel to a newly constructed building at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad the present writ petition has been filed seeking to quash the move of the counts.3. respondents filed a detailed counter meeting the allegations levelled by the petitioners by contending that the present working women's hostel has been constructed by spending a huge amount of rs. 28 lakhs with the sole intention of providing better amenities to the working women who are seeking admission in this hostel. it is stated in the counter by the respondents that their intention cannot be misconstrued as to putting the inmates of the hostel in difficulties or harassing them. it is only intended to provide better amen1ities to the working women. it is also stated in the counter that as per the terms and conditions, such of those working women whose income does not exceed rs. 3,000/- per month and staying single without any kith and kin in the twin cities of hyderabad and secunderabad are only entitled to seek admission in the working women's hostel. it is also stated in the counter that the working women are necessarily to come back to the hostel before 8.00 p.m. in the evenings in terms of g.o.ms. no. 388, employment & social welfare department, dated 6-5-1975. therefore, it is contended that the movements of the working women are also restricted keeping in view, the safety of the inmates of the hostel.4. i have heard smt. d.s.r. krishna, learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned government pleader for women and child welfare representing the respondents.5. the sum and substance of the arguments advanced on behalf of the petitioners is on two-fold.6. the petitioners are not complaining the inadequacy of facilities or any inconvenience in the present premises which is located at nampally. the main complaint of the petitioners is that all these petitioners are working women who flock to cities seeking avocation and having secured some job either in private or government offices, in the absence of any kith and kin, they prefer a secured place like the working women's hostel being managed by the government as well as the private organisations. the sole intention is to feel themselves comfortable and secure in working women's hostel. a conducive atmosphere also prevails in these hostels and the inmates live there amicably and have easy access to their offices or place of work. it is stated that some of the working women have also taken up some law courses in the evening colleges, computer courses and career-oriented courses after their office hours and at times they are forced to come back to the hostel beyond 8.00 p.m. also. for this purpose, the inmates should seek permission for attending the said courses and as such; from the place of their office, easy access to transport facilities is also one of the prime considerations for locating the working women's hostel at nampally.7. the petitioners contend that the present working women's hostel which has come up at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad, is no doubt a spacious building but mere providing spacious accommodation may not redeem the difficulties which working women face. it is also contended that most of the they are maintaining themselves but also equipping themselves with better career-oriented courses. hardly they have sufficient money to spend for additional expenditure such as covering long distances from their office or from hills is at a far of place and is not conducive to transport facilities. hardly few buses ply in this area in evening hours. after office-hours these petitioners find it difficult to get buses and it would be impracticable for them to reach the new hostel at jubilee hills to hire an auto or a taxi as they can ill-afford the same owing to their meagre income. it is further stated that jubilee hills area is no to have easy access to any medical stores or any hospital. no doubt, a five star hospital like apollo does exist in that area, it is contended that such hospitals are not meant for these categories of persons who can ill-afford to get themselves treated in such five star hospitals. apart from this, the day-to-day requirements of the working women may not easily be available in case of emergency.8. to meet these contentions, the learned government pleader states that the respondents have taken care of these aspects and have provided all the facilities within a reachable distance. the respondents contend 'that security men including watchmen are provided in and around the hostel at jubilee hills. it is further contended that frequency of buses on that road is more and therefore, the petitioners need not apprehend any difficulties. it is also stated that huge amounts have been spent by incurring rs. 28 lakhs for construction of the present hostel building at jubilee hills only with the intention to mitigate the hardships faced by the inmates and to provide better amenities, and if the inmates failed to occupy the said premises, the same would go waste. in the counter, it has been stated categorically at para 7 that the inmates are required to return to the hostel before 8.00 p.m. and therefore, no permission could be granted to any inmate to reach the hostel after 8.00 p.m. at para 10 of the counter, it has been categorically stated that if the petitioner are not satisfied with the amenities which are likely to be provided in the new hostel building at jubilee hills owned by the government, these petitioners are free to vacate the same and are at liberty to join any other hostel of their choice.9. the sum and substance of the arguments no doubt, centres around the facilities and security needed for working women. and yet this court is called upon to examine whether the present accommodation, intended for working women, is better suited taking into consideration the security, conveyance and other facilities.10. the intention of the respondents in providing a better building to house the working women's hostel at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad with better amenities to the inmates, is no doubt appreciable, yet, the practical difficulties the inmates would face have to be examined if they are asked to shift from the present hostel at nampally which is located in central area, to jubilee hills. what looks to me is that the petitioners grievances seem to be genuine, in the sense that the inmates are all unmarried working women, few are in the twilight of their young age and few are in their mid 40s. the petitioners-like working women who flock to cities seeking avocation may succeed in getting jobs, in either government or private offices would face the problem of securing appropriate accommodation as they have to lead a single life. therefore, they try to find out a protected place enabling themselves to stay free without any apprehension. the present building located at nampally is in a centralised place. nampally area is connected with all bus services to all parts of the city. train facility is also available from nampally railway station. this court has no second opinion to hold that nampally is a centrally located place in the city of hyderabad. residents of that area have easy access to transport facilities to any part of the city. this apart, nampally area is also surrounded by central government as well as state government offices and also few colleges. the contention of these petitioners that some of them are attending evening law classes and computer classes for bettering their career prospects, cannot be thwarted by the intention of the respondents when they impose restrictions that the inmates have to necessarily come back to the hostel by 8.00 p.m. it is not unrealistic to say that some of the working women who must have been working in private companies are at times forced to work in late evenings upto 7.30 and 8.00 p.m. also. to reach the new hostel at jubilee hills, it would be really inconvenient for them to reach jubilee hills without more frequency of buses. on the contrary, the present hostel at nampally is connected with transport facilities from all corners of the city even during late nights also. therefore, the restrictions imposed by the respondents on the working women to come back to the hostel by 8.00 p.m. would in these circumstances, is an impracticable proposition. in this view of the matter, the authorities shall make a pragmatic and realistic approach in these cases and no hard and fast rules could be fixed. if the respondents find that some of the inmates are misusing their freedom, it is always open to them to remove such inmates from the hostel. the contention that some of the inmates through getting more than rs. 3,000/- per month are still residing in the hostel, is a matter for the respondents to examine and remove such of those inmates who are getting more than rs. 3,000/- per month.11. these petitioners have no grievances about the present accommodation at nampally. they are prepared to share the difficulties due to insufficient accommodation. therefore, the move of the respondents seeking to shift the hostel from nampally to jubilee hills, in my view, is not practicable keeping in view the overall inconvenience the working women would be subjected to if they are shifted to the new building at jubilee hills. merely because jubilee hills is a posh area, the poshness itself may not redeem some of the practical difficulties the inmates would be facing in the event these inmates are shifted to the new building at jubilee hills.12. the contention that the respondents have spent huge amount to a tune of rs. 28 lakhs and that will go waste may not sound proper keeping in view that this building could be utilised for any other purpose. the contention that andhra bank has a training college within the limits of road no. 45, jubilee hills and open university is also located within few kilometres from the hostel and plenty of transport facilities are available may not itself be a ground to reject the apprehension of the petitioners. the submissions at para 10 of the counter filed by the respondents that if the petitioners are not satisfied with better amenities which are to be provided in the new hostel building owned by the government, they are free to vacate the same and seek accommodation in other institutions of their choice, is not in good taste as the government cannot come up with such stand. after all, a wing of the government is managing these buildings and if the wing of the government is not prepared to accommodate the inmates according to their requirement, who else could be the better person to cater to the needs of these working women? when the state claims that the interests of women would be protected by the government, the reply in the counter as indicated above, is not in line with the policy of the government.13. though the learned government pleader tried to persuade this court by placing a decision of the supreme court in j.r. raghupathi v. state of andhra pradesh, : 1988(38)elt225(sc) , i am afraid, the facts of this case cannot be made applicable in the context of the pleadings by the petitioners.14. though this court may not issue a mandamus to the respondents, the court has to necessarily look to the grievances made out by the petitioners who are working women and has to necessarily mould the relief to meet the requirement of the situation. therefore, i hold that shifting of the working women's hostel from nampally area to road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad is hot warranted for the present. may be after few years, the entire area may get well developed, frequency of the buses may increase. with easy availability of transport and other facilities at jubilee hills area, at that point of time, the respondents may think of shifting the present working women's hostel from nampally to jubilee hills area. it is needless to mention that the building which has come up by spending huge amount could very well be utilised by the respondents for other purposes and it is not the case of the respondents that the new building at jubilee hills cannot be utilised for other purpose than the purpose for which it is constructed.15. in this view of the matter, i am of the view, the petitioners have made out a case before this court warranting interference and accordingly, the writ petition is allowed directing the respondents not to shift the working women's hostel from 5-4-506, kattalmandi, nampally, hyderabad to the new building at road no. 45, jubilee hills, hyderabad. the respondents shall bear in mind that any difficulties being faced by the inmates could be remedied by making alterations in the present building with the permission of the owner of the building and provide better amenities to the inmates. no costs.