New Delhi, August 2
Expressing displeasure over the Centre’s vague stand on the eviction of 30 odd bungalows occupied illegally by some former MPs, the Supreme Court today hinted that it could issue notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker to seek his help in getting the government properties vacated.

The indication was given by a Bench of Justices B.N. Agrawal and P.P. Naolekar after the Centre’s counsel failed to make a clear statement whether the issue had been taken by the government with the House committee.

“Why did not you approach the House committee… if you do not take it up with the House committee, then we may issue notice to the Speaker,” the Bench told Centre’s counsel Wasim Ahmed Qadri.

It pointed out that the fresh affidavit filed by the government was “vague” on the efforts taken by the authorities on the eviction of the former legislators and the recovery of rent from them on market rate.

The court pointed out that in its affidavit the government had stated that out of the 497 government houses, including some bungalows occupied by the former MPs, 432 had been vacated.

But the affidavit did not specify what action had been taken in respect of the remaining properties, including the 30 bungalows occupied by former MPs and about the recovery of “penal rent” from them, the court said.

The court making efforts to get the government properties vacated from illegal occupation not only in Delhi but in the state capitals after it came to know of thousands of houses being occupied unauthorisedly all over the country, the Bench in uncertain terms told the Centre’s counsel that the “legislators were not above the law”.

Eventually the court gave six weeks time to the Centre to submit its response, giving it sufficient time to approach the House committee.

It also took to task the Bihar government for not been able to locate 180 persons, not in any way connected with the government but allotted state’s properties in Patna when Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi were heading the RJD government.

The Nitish Kumar government though stated that these houses had been vacated as the occupants had left them on the change of the government, but the authorities were not able to locate them to take action. These occupants had virtually taken these houses forcibly during the RJD regime, the Bihar government counsel said.

On illegal occupation of government houses by some IAS and IPS officers in Andhra Pradesh, the court said if they did not vacate the properties, action under Section 441 of the IPC for “criminal trespass” should be initiated.