AAP’s Raghav Chadha loses bungalow he got above his grade, takes RS Secretariat to court

The handbook, however, says that the House Committee chairman is authorised in “exceptional circumstances/special cases” to allot accommodation that is bigger than the entitlement of a member.

The current House Committee, chaired by BJP MP C M Ramesh, was constituted on November 2, 2022, while the previous House Committee chairman O P Mathur’s term ended in “July 2022”, as per the Rajya Sabha website. Ramesh did not comment when reached.

Chadha told The Indian Express that he was not surprised by the allotment cancellation, and called it an attempt to intimidate and silence him. He said the house had been allotted to him by the Rajya Sabha chairman following due process.

“The cancellation of my allotted house is not an administrative decision; it is a blatant reflection of the BJP’s vindictive nature. The act reeks of political bias. It attempts to suppress my fearless voice in the Rajya Sabha, to pressurise and coerce me, and prevent me from holding the government accountable on core issues. Such acts of the executives targeting selective parliamentarians tantamount to illegal and unwarranted interference in the due discharge of their functions as the Representatives of the House. With its actions, the BJP has hit rock bottom of vendetta politics and jeopardised the basic structure of the Constitution itself, which envisages fearless discussions and dissent by the elected members of the House,” he said in a written reply.

Chadha said the cancellation notice was passed without any notice to him. “It bears mentioning that the allotment of the said accommodation was done by the Hon’ble Chairman of Rajya Sabha following the due process of law, after which the possession was taken, and I moved in with my family,” he said.

Elected to Rajya Sabha from Punjab in March last year, Chadha had been allotted a Type-VI bungalow, C-1/12, Pandara Park, on July 6, 2022, according to the order of the Patiala House court dated April 18.

“Thereafter, on 29.08.2022, plaintiff (Chadha) made a representation to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha (Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar) requesting for the allotment of Type-VII accommodation. The said representation of the plaintiff was considered and on 08.09.2022, in lieu of earlier accommodation, he was allotted Bungalow No. AB-5, Pandara Road, New Delhi from Rajya Sabha Pool. Plaintiff accepted the allotment and started residing therein along with his parents after carrying out renovation work,” the order stated.

It said Chadha had taken possession of the bungalow, AB-5, Pandara Road, on November 9, 2022. He said he was residing at the bungalow with his parents, after having renovations carried out at the property, the order said. Then, he said, he received a letter dated March 3 cancelling the allotment.

“He has mentioned that plaintiff is entitled to the category of accommodation provided to him. He has argued that the accommodation was cancelled arbitrarily without providing any hearing to the plaintiff. He has mentioned that the concerned authority has cancelled the accommodation without assigning any reason and justification,” the order stated.

Chadha said there were others who were similarly placed but their allotments had not been cancelled.

“He has argued that defendant (Rajya Sabha Secretariat) is acting in haste and there is a strong apprehension that plaintiff may be forcibly dispossessed from the accommodation,” the order said.

Asking that the bungalow not be allotted to someone else, Chadha also “sought damages to the tune of Rs 5,50,000/- from the defendant for causing mental agony and harassment.”

The judge noted that at this stage it was not expedient to consider Chadha’s argument that once allotted, the accommodation cannot be cancelled for any reason during the term of the MP.

“However, I do find force in the second limb of argument advanced on behalf of plaintiff that a person cannot be dispossessed except by following the due process of law. Since plaintiff is occupying an accommodation, which falls under the category of a public premises, defendant is obligated to follow the due process of law,” the judge said, ordering the Rajya Sabha Secretariat not to dispossess Chadha until the next hearing.

Since then both sides have filed applications or replies and the next date of hearing is July 10.

Meanwhile, Chadha said the move to cancel a sitting MP’s allotted accommodation when he had more than five years of his term remaining was unprecedented.

“By cancelling my allotted house, the government is infringing upon my rights as a citizen and undermining the very essence of democracy. It has sent a chilling message to anyone who dares to question or challenge the government’s policies – ‘Fall in line or face the consequences’,” he said, adding that it only strengthened his resolve to fight for justice.