Ex-CMs get more time to vacate premises

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 5

The Nainital High Court directed former chief ministers to vacate their government houses by February 15 and file undertakings in the court by December 14, declaring that they will vacate these by February 14.

The court has taken a serious view that despite repeated requests, former chief ministers of the state had not informed the court about vacating the government accommodations provided to them by the state government.

Hearing the petition filed by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice VK Bisht had asked the former chief ministers to vacate their official premises by January 31, 2017. However, on the requests of counsel of the former chief ministers, the court asked them to file undertaking by December 14 and vacate by February 14, 2017. The court told the respondents that if they failed to follow order, it would pass strict orders of vacation.

The petitioner had requested the court that the market rent should also be recovered from them. The state government counsel informed the court that the state government had calculated the rent at the rate of 1,000 per month.

Kartikey Hari Gupta, counsel of the RLEK argued that it was a matter of shame and regret that a state, which was heavily dependent on the Central Government for its routine expenses, could charge only Rs 1,000 as rent for the palatial houses provided to these ex CMs. The advocate of former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari informed the court that he had vacated the official bungalow but the petitioner had not asked for recovery of rent from them. The court asked the state government to file the calculated rent against all former chief ministers in the court by December 14.

The RLEK counsel argued that that documents obtained under the RTI showed that the expenditure on electricity, security, petrol, etc on these former chief ministers were in crores and prayed to the court that this expenditure may also be recovered from them. The Chief Justice, Justice KM Jospeh, also asked the state government that under what law cars and petrol were provided to them. The court will hear the matter on December 14.