The judge also accepted the plea of charging an amount of five per cent of their salary as invalid and restrained the authorities from deducting the amount from their salaries even as it directed the authorities for getting the houses under unauthorized possession vacated.

Sarkari Karamchari Welfare Associates had filled a civil suit with the state of Punjab, through Revenue Secretary, Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, Secretary, PWD (B&R), Punjab, Executive Engineer PWD (B&R), Provincial Division, Executive Engineer PWD (Public Health) Executive Engineer PWD (Electricals) and Administrative Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).

In a civil suit, the plaintiff (Sarkari Karamchari Welfare Associates) had stated that the they had been allotted houses at Dugri Road. The government had been deducting five per cent of their basic salary as maintenance charges every month from their salary but no maintenance work was being carried since 1998. The plaintiff alleged that the houses were in bad shape, no whitewash had been conducted, windowpanes and glasses were broken, pipelines were leaking, and electric fittings and cables being old, needed to be replaced and the roads were broken. To make matters worse, some of the houses also were in illegal possession.

On the other hand, representative of PUDA stated that after construction, the houses had been handed over to PWD and the same were allotted to government employees by the Deputy Commissioner. Other defendants denied the allegations and alleged that the maintenance of the houses was being carried out regularly. They also pleaded that all efforts were being made by them to get the houses — under unauthorized possession — vacated from the non-allottees with the help of district administration and police. They also alleged that that the amount of five per cent of basic salary was not being deducted as maintenance charges and actually, it was license fee charged from the employees for allotment of the houses.

The local commissioner appointed by the court to inspect the houses in its report had stated that of the total 10 houses visited by him, only two were found to be white washed and electric fittings were in bad state. He also pointed out various other problems.