The commission bench, comprising president J. B. Garg and members Sada Nand and Pushpa Ojha, observed that Chandigarh Housing Board had been receiving annual instalments from complainant Lili Bawa, amounting to about Rs 5.6 lakh by June 6, 1994.

They added that the allotment of the flat had been ordered by the UT Administrator in 1989 and subsequent purchase of a flat in Panchkula by the complainant did not render invalid the lawful allotment made earlier.

In case the aforesaid flat is no longer available, the bench directed the Chandigarh Housing Board to provide a flat of equivalent area and of standard construction. Costs of Rs 3,000 were also awarded to the complainant.

The complainant's plea was that after her husband died in the Jaffna operation, she received a letter for vacation of residential accommodation at station headquarters, Manimajra. On her second representation to the Union Territory Administrator, she was allotted a flat at Manimajra. She also paid the required Rs 20,000. It was added that at the time of this allotment, she was not in possession of any dwelling unit throughout India.

The complainant stated that about Rs 5.6 lakh had been deposited with the CHB but it failed to deliver the allotment, following which she purchased a house at Panchkula.

Counsel for the respondents, however, maintained that the show-cause notice regarding cancellation of the Manimajra dwelling unit was justifiedbecause the complainant had concealed the material fact that she owned a house in Panchkula.