House rent allowance claim fails where company accommodation was offered, accepted briefly, then surrendered in favour of hotel stay.

House rent allowance under the Coal India Executives House Rent Allowance Rules was unavailable where the employee was offered accommodation at the transferred station, stayed in the company guest house, surrendered that accommodation and then chose to live in a hotel at his own expense. Rule 3.1 barred allowance when company accommodation was refused or surrendered, and Rule 3.4 applied only where no accommodation had been allotted at the new station. Section 10(13A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Rule 2A of the Income-tax Rules were inapposite because the dispute did not concern tenancy or actual rent paid under that fiscal framework.

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Issues: Whether the writ petitioner was entitled to house rent allowance under the Coal India Executives House Rent Allowance Rules after being provided guest-house accommodation at the transferred station and thereafter shifting to a hotel at his own expense; and whether the reliance on Section 10(13A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Rule 2A of the Income-tax Rules could sustain the claim.

Analysis: Rule 3.1 barred house rent allowance where an employee refused or surrendered accommodation offered by the company. Rule 3.4 applied only where an employee had taken over duty at the new station and had not been allotted accommodation there, whereas the facts showed that immediate accommodation was provided in the company guest house. The petitioner stayed there briefly, surrendered that accommodation, and then chose to stay in a hotel at Asansol. On this construction, the availability and surrender of company-provided accommodation disentitled him from claiming house rent allowance. The reference to Section 10(13A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and Rule 2A of the Income-tax Rules was held to be inapposite because the dispute did not involve any tenancy or claim based on actual rent paid under that fiscal framework.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to house rent allowance under the governing service rules.

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