6 UP ex-CMs face eviction as SC repeals 'government home for life'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has struck down a 1997 decision of the UP government to allot official bungalows in Lucknow to former chief ministers, including Union home minister Rajnath Singh, BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and ordered their eviction in two months.

On Monday, a bench of justices A R Dave, N V Ramana and R Banumathi agreed with aPIL, filed by NGO Lok Prahari through S N Shukla, and also struck down the allocation of government bungalows to NGOs and social organisations in posh Lucknow localities. The bench has also ordered the Akhilesh Yadav government to recover past rent, calculated according to market raters, from the allottees, who have occupied the bungalows for more over a decade. Other ex-CMs who face eviction are N D Tiwari, Ram Naresh Yadav and Kalyan Singh.

The bench said the Ex-Chief Ministers Residence Allotment Rules, 1997, were illegal as they ran contrary to the UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981. The Act permits a minister to retain his/her official residence for only 15 days after demitting office.

On the contrary, the 1997 rules allowed the allotment of bungalows to former CMs for life. The SC said the rules were only executive instructions and could not override the Act. Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Dave said, "The 1997 rules give largesse only to former chief ministers without any element of reasonableness."

The state attempted to justify the allocation saying many of the former CMs enjoyed Z-category security and the government had to make adequate arrangements for them. But the bench called it a fig leaf and said the Centre determined the category of security and would accordingly be obliged to provide appropriate accommodation.