Aam Aadmi Party (AA) MP Raghav Chadha has now moved the Delhi High Court against the Patiala House court order asking him to evict the type-VII bungalow on Pandora Road after the allotment of the same was cancelled by the Rajya Sabha secretariat. Chadha had earlier called the cancellation "arbitrary" after the court vacated its interim order saying that the MP does not possess a vested right to continue occupying a government Type-7 bungalow, reported IANS.
The report mentioned that the bungalows in question are allocated to lawmakers who have served as ministers, chief ministers, or governors.
Additional District Judge Sudhanshu Kaushik of Patiala House Courts had earlier asked the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to refrain from evicting Chadha from the bungalow without following a due legal process. The court's decision came in Chadha's plea against the Rajya Sabha Secretariat's decision to cancel the bungalow's allotment to him.
Reacting to the notice, the Rajya Sabha MP had said that the cancellation of his duly allotted official accommodation was arbitrary and was done without any prior notice to him. He called it an "unprecedented" action in the more than 70-year history of the upper house of Parliament, where a sitting member has been removed from their duly allotted accommodation, despite having more than four years remaining in their tenure as a Rajya Sabha member, IANS stated.
He further said that the entire manner in which the exercise was conducted leaves him with no option but to believe that it was carried out at the "behest of the BJP" for their political motives and vested interests, with the aim of silencing and stifling political criticism from vocal parliamentarians like him.
"Coupled with my suspension as a Member of Parliament, which was initiated by the ruling party, it is evident that the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to target vocal Members of Parliament," he said as quoted by IANS.
"This constitutes unwarranted interference in the discharge of their duties as representatives of the House and represents a low point in the realm of vendetta politics," he added.
In vacating the interim order, the court rejected Chadha's argument that once accommodation is allocated to an MP, it cannot be canceled under any circumstances during their entire tenure.
Chadha claimed that many of his neighbours in the same residential complex are first-time MPs who have been allotted similar accommodations beyond their entitlement. IANS mentioned that about 118 out of 240 Rajya Sabha MPs are residing in accommodations exceeding their entitlement.
"I will be taking appropriate legal action in due course. Needless to say that I will continue to fearlessly raise the voices of the people of Punjab and India, regardless of the challenges or costs involved," the AAP MP was quoted as saying by IANS.
Earlier, it was the Secretariat's case that the interim relief had been granted to Chadha without adhering to the procedure outlined in Section 80(2) of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). As per the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, a hearing should have been conducted for both sides before granting such relief under the provision.
The court said that the interim relief granted in Chadha's case had been an apparent error, and the order dated April 18 was recalled and vacated. The court further said that since no urgent or immediate relief was required in the suit, the plaintiff should re-file the case after complying with the requirements of Section 80(1) of CPC.