Government bungalow allocation row: HC protects Raghav Chadha from eviction

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha can live in the government bungalow allotted to him for now, with the Delhi High Court Tuesday reviving the trial court's stay on his eviction by the Rajya Sabha secretariat.

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani allowed Chadha’s appeal and revived the trial court’s April 18 order which had prevented the Rajya Sabha secretariat from evicting him.

The high court said the trial court was in error in returning Chadha's plaint over non-compliance with the provisions of section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code.

Chadha had challenged the trial court's October 5 order which vacated its own order of April 18 on a review plea filed by the RS Secretariat. The trial court had said in its latest order that Chadha cannot claim an absolute right to occupy the government bungalow during his entire tenure as a Rajya Sabha member even after cancellation of the allotment.

The Rajya Sabha secretariat had opposed Chadha's petition in the high court against the trial court's decision which had cleared the decks for his eviction.

The high court said the April 18 order of the trial court which had directed the Rajya Sabha secretariat not to evict Chadha, stands revived and shall remain in force till the time the trial court decides his application for interim relief.

The trial court had returned Chadha’s plaint on the ground that he failed to comply with the provisions of section 80 CPC which says no suit shall be instituted against the government or a public officer in respect of any act purporting to be done by the public officer in his official capacity.

The other ground on which the plaint was returned by the trial court was since the letter cancelling the allotment of the bungalow was issued on March 3, 2023 and the suit was filed only on April 17, Chadha had failed to demonstrate the need for any urgent or immediate relief.

The high court, while deciding the appeal said the RS Secretariat, being the permanent administrative office of the Rajya Sabha, is a separate and distinct institution from the government that is the Executive wing of the State.

“In the present matter therefore, it cannot be said that the word ‘Government’ appearing in section 80 CPC would include the RS Secretariat. Accordingly, in the opinion of this court, section 80 CPC has no application to the suit filed by the appellant, in which the sole defendant is Rajya Sabha Secretariat, against whom relief has been sought for in the suit,” Justice Bhambhani said.

The high court asked Chadha to present the plaint before the trial court again within three days, and also directed the lower court to proceed with the matter by first deciding the interim relief application which stands restored before it.

Chadha's counsel had submitted before the high court that the MP has been served with a notice and eviction proceedings are going on.

Chadha had contended before the high court that he was a victim of "selective targeting" because he was a vocal opposition member of Parliament. Chadha said he was the only sitting lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha ever who was sought to be evicted from the bungalow allotted to him.

He had said the allotment of accommodation is an exercise of guided discretion and is made after taking into account the circumstances peculiar to the MP concerned, and in exercise of this discretion, out of 245 sitting MPs in the Rajya Sabha, 115 have been granted accommodation above their 'default' entitlement.

His counsel had told the high court that the MP has been provided Z+ security in view of threats, and a large contingent of security personnel was required to be deployed at his residence. The personnel cannot be accommodated in the bungalow earlier allotted to him at Pandara Park. The AAP government in Punjab has accorded Z+ security to Chadha, who is a Rajya Sabha member from there.

Chadha was on July 6 last year allotted a 'Type 6' bungalow at Pandara Park but he made a representation to the Rajya Sabha chairman on August 29 requesting for a 'Type 7' accommodation. He was then allotted another bungalow on Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha pool.

However, in March this year, the allotment was cancelled.

As a first-time MP, Chadha is entitled to a Type-5 accommodation in the normal course, according to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook released in April 2022.

The handbook says MPs who are former Union Cabinet ministers, former governors or former chief ministers, and former Lok Sabha Speakers, are entitled to Type-7 bungalows, the second largest category available to Rajya Sabha members.