Vacate on time or pay fine: Rajasthan HC

Days after the SC had asked former chief ministers to vacate their government bungalows, Rajasthan high court ordered retired bureaucrats to vacate government accommodation and pay the fine. Similarly, it has also asked former Members of Parliament to pay their dues for staying in Delhi’s Rajasthan House.

The bench of Justice Manish Bhandari has ordered the government about steps it has taken regarding the SC order for removing retired officials from government accommodations and collecting penalties for their delayed departure. The court asked the government to provide a list of such officers who have not yet vacated accommodations post retirement or transfer. The petitioner, Dr Prabhat Kanwaria, is associate professor at Sawai Man Singh Medical College. Dr Kanwaria had filed a petition challenging notice from general administration department, asking him to vacate government accommodation because he owns a home in Jaipur. Following which, he wrote to the GAD that despite having his own home he could still occupy government accommodation by paying three times the normal rent but the GAD cancelled his application without informing him. Dr Kanwaria alleged discrimination on part of the government, arguing that while many retired and transferred officers are still occupying government accommodations, he is being forced to vacate the official house. The court then asked the state government about the number of government houses allotted to officers and how many of them were still occupied.

The court also asked the state government to provide list of such officers asking it to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court order by getting these houses vacated besides collecting due rent along with penalties.

Meanwhile, hearing a PIL, a division bench of the high court asked the state government to collect dues from eight former MPs including a former union minister, for staying in Rajasthan House in Delhi. Acting on PIL filed by Prof. K.B. Agarwal, the division bench of Justice Kalpesh Satyendra Jhaveri and Justice Banwari Lal Sharma ordered that the state government must collect '62.08 lakh from former MPs.

The state government expressed apprehension as these former MPs belong to the Opposition parties and can create trouble. However, the court ordered the state government to comply with its ruling and collect the amount within three months.

During the hearing, the court was informed that the Central government had already paid more than '79 lakhs against total dues to be collected from these MPs while '62.08 have to be paid by them. The defaulter former MPs are Harish Choudhary, Badri Ram Jakhar, K.L. Meena, Mahesh Joshi, Jyoti Mirdha and Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, all of whom belong to the Congress, while the remaining two MPs are from the ruling BJP, including Gyan Prakash Pilania and late K.L. Valmiki.