Notice to Mahua Moitra for not vacating bungalow

PTI

New Delhi, January 8

Former Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra was issued a notice on Monday by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) for not vacating her government bungalow, a source in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said.

The Trinamool Congress leader, who was expelled from Lok Sabha on December 8 last year, was earlier asked to vacate the house by January 7 after her allotment was cancelled. The DoE has now asked her to submit her reply to the notice within three days.

"A show cause notice has been issued to Mahua Moitra, seeking her reply within three days as to why she has still not vacated her government accommodation," the source said.

On January 4, the Delhi High Court asked the TMC leader to approach the DoE with a request for allowing her to continue to occupy the government accommodation allotted to her. Justice Subramoniun Prasad, while dealing with the TMC leader's challenge to an official intimation asking her to vacate the government bungalow by January 7 on account of cancellation of the allotment following her expulsion, noted that the rules permitted the authorities to allow a resident to overstay for up to six months on payment of certain charges in exceptional circumstances. The court allowed Moitra to withdraw her petition and noted it has not made any observations on the merits of the matter. It said the Directorate of Estates shall decide her case after applying its own mind.

It added that the law mandates issuing notice to a resident before eviction and the government has to take steps to evict the petitioner in accordance with law. Moitra was held guilty of "unethical conduct" and expelled from Lok Sabha on December 8, 2023 for allegedly accepting gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her user ID and password of the Parliament website with him.

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