Cong leader Udit Raj, wife evicted from govt residence

The action comes just days before a Patiala House Court hearing on Raj’s petition challenging the eviction order.

More than a year after her retirement, former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Seema Raj and her husband, Congress politician Udit Raj, were evicted on Friday from a Type 6 government bungalow at Pandara Park in New Delhi in yet another controversy surrounding government accommodations. The action by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) comes just days before a Patiala House Court hearing on Raj’s petition challenging the eviction order.

Udit Raj’s residence at Pandara Park vacated by the Estate office and CPWD personnel on Friday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

While Seema Raj declined to comment on whether she believed the eviction was politically motivated, Udit Raj took to X (formerly Twitter), alleging that the action was driven by caste bias. “We are paying the price for raising our voice for Dalits and backward classes,” he wrote.

The eviction order was issued in August 2025 after a hearing, according to a note from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. “Despite that, she has not vacated the house,” the note stated, adding that damage charges amounting to about ₹21.45 lakh had accumulated for unauthorised occupation of the government residence.

Raj, who retired in November 2023, told Hindustan Times that she had been granted permission to retain the accommodation until May 31, 2025, citing her father’s prolonged illness. “I had paid the required licence fee for the extended period. My father was critically ill and hospitalised for months at Apollo Hospital,” she said.

She added that she later sought another extension, offering to pay market rent as her father’s condition deteriorated. “However, around six weeks ago, the Directorate issued an eviction order. The order itself mentioned that I could appeal, so I did so within the stipulated time,” Raj said. The matter, she added, was pending before a Patiala House court and was listed for hearing on October 28.

“Despite that, they arrived suddenly today, four days before the court hearing, and started throwing our belongings on the road,” she alleged. “We had already decided to vacate by November-end, but this was completely uncalled for.”

In her petition, Raj cited her 36 years of government service and her family’s legacy of public service — noting that her father too had served in the government for over three decades. “Allowing us a few more days to make alternative arrangements would not have been unreasonable,” she said.

Udit Raj, who had served in the IRS before joining politics, was elected as a BJP MP from North West Delhi in 2019. He joined the Congress after being denied a ticket ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Recently, the Directorate of Estates has faced scrutiny from the Delhi High Court over irregularities and delays in the allocation of government residences, particularly in a case related to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal. Following the court’s intervention, Kejriwal was allotted a Type 7 bungalow in Lodhi Estate.