AAP leader Raghav Chadha has now moved Delhi HC against the Trial Court’s decision to vacate is government bungalow in Delhi..
New Delhi: AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court’s decision to vacate an interim order which stopped the Rajya Sabha secretariat from evicting him from the government bungalow allotted to him. The plea was mentioned for urgent hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula which agreed to list it on Wednesday.
Chadha’s counsel informed the court a notice has been served to the MP and eviction proceedings are going on. She said earlier there was a stay by the trial court on his eviction which has now been lifted.
The trial court had said in an October 5 order that Chadha cannot claim he has an absolute right to continue to occupy the government bungalow during his entire tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP even after the cancellation of allotment.
The trial court had made the observation while vacating an interim order passed on April 18 which directed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat not to oust Chadha from the government bungalow. It had noted Chadha was granted the interim relief without the due process of law. The trial court had rejected the argument that the accommodation once allotted to an MP cannot be cancelled under any circumstances during the member’s entire tenure.
“It may also be added that plaintiff (Chadha) has no vested right in the accommodation and his status is akin to that of a licensee, which can be revoked by the competent authority at any time. Plaintiff cannot claim that he has an absolute right to continue to occupy the accommodation during his entire tenure as a Member of Rajya Sabha,” it had said, adding the allotment of government bungalow is “only a privilege given to the plaintiff “.
“This is certainly an error apparent on the face of the record and the same needs to be corrected. Accordingly, the order dated April 18, 2023 stands recalled and the interim order stands vacated,” it had said and added that Chadha failed to demonstrate there was any urgent or immediate need for relief. The trial court had in April directed the secretariat not to evict Chadha from the bungalow till the pendency of the application “without due process of law”. Chadha’s counsel had urged the court to grant an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against the Rajya Sabha secretariat, claiming it was “hell bent” on evicting the AAP leader.
Chadha was on July 6 last year allotted a ‘Type 6’ bungalow at Pandara Park but he made a representation to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha on August 29 requesting for a ‘Type 7’ accommodation. He was then allotted another bungalow on Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha pool. However, in March this year, the allotment was cancelled. Chadha sought an injunction to the effect that the secretariat be restrained from taking any further action in consequence of the March 3 order, including allotting the bungalow to some other person. The AAP MP also sought Rs 5.5 lakh in damages from the secretariat for causing him mental agony and harassment.
As a first-time MP, Chadha is entitled to a Type-5 accommodation in the normal course, according to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook released in April 2022. The handbook says MPs who are former Union Cabinet Ministers, former Governors or former Chief Ministers, and former Lok Sabha Speakers, are entitled to Type-7 bungalows, the second largest category available to Rajya Sabha MPs.