Wife of former West Bengal Governor wins case against driver

The wife of former West Bengal Governor has won a legal battle against their driver who had refused to vacate a servants quarter allotted to him, claiming he was a tenant and paid rent

The wife of former West Bengal Governor has won a legal battle against their driver who had refused to vacate a servants quarter allotted to him, claiming he was a tenant and paid rent.

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Anjana Shah, 80, wife of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Viren Shah, had approached the city civil court in March 2016 against their driver Anil Nair. The court has asked Nair to vacate the servant quarters occupied by him even after he was dismissed from the job in 2014.

Nair was appointed in 2003 as full-time driver/chauffeur to Shah and his family by Mukund Limited, where Shah was a chairman. Nair was given an accommodation in a service quarter annexed to Suneeta Building, Malabar Hill, where Shah resided. The company continued to provide him with the service when he resigned from the company in 1999.

However, after Shah died on March 2013, the company terminated services of Nair.

Nair then approached Anjana saying he would continue his services for a monthly salary of ₹30,000. Anjana did not accept his offer, following which Nair misbehaved with the Shah family. He was then removed and asked to vacate the quarters.

Nair refused to vacate the house and asked for alternative premises of a self-contained room kitchen on ownership basis in south Mumbai or ₹70 to ₹80 lakh cash to purchase the same, either by plaintiff or by the company.

Nair claimed he was a tenant of the quarters and paid rent to Shah. He claimed to have paid a deposit of ₹12 lakh along with monthly rent of ₹2,300. He also denied that he was their driver.

The court has rejected Nair’s claims as he could not produce any document or proof to show that he had paid deposit or rent to Shah for occupation of the premises.