The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set aside a trial court order that had restrained the Rajya Sabha Secretariat from evicting Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha from a government bungalow allocated to him.
Following two days of hearings, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani reserved his verdict, during which the High Court verbally directed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat's lawyer to stop from taking any action in this matter until the High Court's final decision.
In its October 5 order, the trial court ruled that Chadha could not maintain his right to retain the government bungalow for the duration of his tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP, even if the allocation was canceled.
“The plaintiff (Chadha) cannot assert that he possesses an absolute entitlement to occupy the accommodation throughout his entire term as a Member of the Rajya Sabha. The allocation of government housing is simply a privilege granted to the plaintiff, and he does not have an inherent right to maintain occupancy even after the allocation has been rescinded," the court observed at the time.
Chadha was allowed to continue residing in his present government bungalow until the resolution. The Delhi High Court's ruling reinstates the lower court's April 18 order that suspended the eviction action, and this protection will remain in place until the second petition is determined.
