Raghav Chadha moves Delhi HC against trial court’s decision on bungalow allocation

Chadha’s counsel submitted that the Member of Parliament has been served with a notice and eviction proceedings are going on

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday approached the Delhi high court challenging a local court’s order to vacate an interim order which stopped the Rajya Sabha secretariat from evicting him from the official government bungalow allotted to him.

Chadha on September 8, 2022, was allotted a Type VII bungalow at Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha pool. (PTI photo)

Chadha on September 8, 2022, was allotted a Type VII bungalow at Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha pool. He had taken possession of the bungalow in November 2022.

In an October 5 order, the trial court had said that Chadha cannot claim that 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.

Chadha’s plea was mentioned before the bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Sanjeev Narula.

Urging the court to list the plea, Chadha’s counsel said that the MP had an apprehension of commencement of eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

“MP has been served for eviction of the house. We have an apprehension that the proceedings might start. We had a stay in trial court,” the counsel said.

Considering counsel’s contention, the bench agreed to list the plea on Wednesday.

The Delhi court’s order was delivered in an application filed by RS secretariat seeking review of its interim order dated April 18, 2023.

Vacating the same, the court observed that no one had vested right to continue to occupy a government allotted house after the privilege was withdrawn.

“The argument that the accommodation once made to a Member of Parliament (MP) cannot be canceled under any circumstances during the entire tenure of Member of Parliament deserves rejection. It may also be added that plaintiff 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. The allotment of Government accommodation is only a privilege given to the plaintiff and he has no vested right to continue to occupy the same even after the cancellation of allotment,” the court said.