Govt bungalow allocation row: Raghav Chadha moves HC against trial court's decision to vacate interim order

NEW DELHI: AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday took his case to the Delhi high court, contesting a trial court's ruling that lifted a temporary injunction preventing the Rajya Sabha secretariat from removing him from the government residence assigned to him.
The request for an expedited hearing was brought up before a bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, who consented to schedule the hearing for Wednesday.
Chadha's legal representative informed the court that a formal notice had been served to the Member of Parliament, and the process of eviction was already in progress.
She mentioned that previously, a stay had been granted by the trial court to halt his eviction, but this stay has since been lifted.
In an order issued on October 5, the trial court stated that Chadha cannot assert an unconditional entitlement to retain the government bungalow for the entire duration of his tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP, especially after the allocation had been revoked.
The trial court made this observation while revoking an interim order issued on April 18, which had instructed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat not to remove Chadha from the government bungalow. The court noted that Chadha had been granted interim relief without following the proper legal procedures.
The trial court had dismissed the argument that the accommodation allocated to an MP cannot be canceled under any circumstances throughout the member's entire tenure.
The trial court had further emphasized, "It may also be added that the plaintiff (Chadha) has no vested right in the accommodation, and his status is similar to that of a licensee, which can be revoked by the competent authority at any time. The plaintiff cannot assert an absolute right to maintain occupancy of the accommodation for the entirety of his Rajya Sabha membership tenure." The court also highlighted that the allocation of a government bungalow is "merely a privilege granted to the plaintiff."
The court had stated, "This is undeniably a glaring error evident from the available record, and it necessitates correction. Consequently, the order issued on April 18, 2023, is hereby rescinded, and the interim order is nullified." Furthermore, it was noted that Chadha had not substantiated any pressing or immediate necessity for relief.
In April, the trial court had instructed the secretariat not to remove Chadha from the bungalow while his application was pending, citing that the eviction should not occur "without following the proper legal procedures."
Chadha's legal representative had requested the court to issue an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against the Rajya Sabha secretariat, alleging that they were determined to expel the AAP leader.have
On July 6 of the previous year, Chadha was assigned a 'Type 6' bungalow at Pandara Park. However, on August 29, he submitted a request to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha for a 'Type 7' accommodation. Subsequently, he was allocated another bungalow on Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha's pool of residences.
However, in March of the current year, the allocation of the bungalow was canceled.have
Chadha requested an injunction to prevent the secretariat from taking any additional actions in response to the March 3 order, which includes allocating the bungalow to another individual.
Additionally, the AAP MP also sought Rs 5.5 lakh in damages from the secretariat, citing mental distress and harassment caused to him.
According to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook released in April 2022, as a first-time MP, Chadha is ordinarily entitled to a Type-5 accommodation.
The handbook specifies that MPs who have previously served as Union cabinet ministers, governors, chief ministers, or Lok Sabha speakers are entitled to Type-7 bungalows, which are the second-largest category of accommodations available to Rajya Sabha MPs.
With agency inputs