The Patiala House court on Thursday said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha has no vested right to continue to occupy the government bungalow after its allotment has been cancelled and the privilege given to him has been withdrawn.
Reacting to the court’s order, the AAP MP said the trial court had initially accepted his plea and granted interim relief.
“It has now returned my case on a legal technicality, which I am legally advised to state is based on an incorrect understanding of the law. I will be taking appropriate action in law in due course. Needless to state that I will continue to raise the voice of people of Punjab and India fearlessly, irrespective of the costs involved,” he added.
Additional district judge Sudhanshu Kaushik on October 5 vacated an interim order passed by the court in April 2023 in which the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has been asked to not dispossess the AAP MP from the government bungalow without due process of law. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat then approached the court seeking recall of the interim order.
“I find that plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that any urgent or immediate relief needs to be granted in the present matter for which leave could be granted under Section 80(2) of CPC. Plaintiff’s allotment was cancelled on 03.03.2023, whereas, the suit was instituted on 17.04.2023. The accommodation granted to the plaintiff falls under the definition of a public premises,” the order reads.
The court added that the accommodation allotted to Mr. Chaddha was only a privilege given to him as a member of Parliament.
“He has no vested right to continue to occupy the same after the privilege has been withdrawn and the allotment has been cancelled. The argument that the plaintiff was not given hearing before the cancellation of allotment stands rejected as no such notice was required under the law,” the court added.
Mr. Chadha had moved the court against a March 3, 2023 letter, in which the government bungalow allotted to him by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat was cancelled. This house is generally allotted to former ministers, chief ministers or governors.
In his plea, Mr. Chadha maintained that he was allotted a ‘Type 6’ bungalow at Delhi’s Pandara Park on July 6 last year, but he requested a ‘Type 7’ accommodation to the Rajya Sabha chairman on August 29. He was then allotted a new bungalow on Pandara Road across from the Rajya Sabha pool.
However, on March 3 this year, the allotment of the bungalow was cancelled by issuing a notice.
He argued in the petition that the accommodation allotted to him was cancelled arbitrarily and he could not have been evicted without due process.
