New Delhi, November 16
The Supreme Court today gave two months’ time to the Centre to evict all unauthorised occupants from government houses in the Capital and shift former ministers and now MPs to smaller houses. The court also asked the Delhi High Court to ensure the disposal of allotment-related litigation before it and subordinate judiciary during this period.
Declining to issue a specific direction on eviction even when Solicitor-General G.E. Vahanvati tried to get an order to this effect, a Bench of Mr Justice B.N. Agrawal and Mr Justice A.K. Mathur asked if the government was found in “lacking a will” to implement its policy guidelines.
“Are you powerless to take any action in the matter,” the court asked the Solicitor-General while adjourning the case to January 24 when the government would be required to submit a further status report.
It said the government should move an application before the high court Chief Justice for expeditious disposal of the house allotment cases, whether pending before the high court or lower courts.
Giving details on the action taken so far, Mr Vahanvati told the court that Bihar Governor Buta Singh, whose name figured at number one in the VIPs’ list of unauthorised occupants of ministerial bungalows, evicted it yesterday. So far, 117 of the 465 houses had been evicted and cases relating to 88
were pending before the high court and lower courts, he said. Apparently taking into account the effect of strong observations made by the court on October 24 in Buta Singh’s case, Mr Vahanvati wanted the Bench to issue some direction today stating that the matter was “sensitive”.
The court said during the past few weeks if the government was able to vacate 117 houses, it could take steps to vacate the others as well.
The court said the law should be enforced equally against all be it a government official or a VIP.
Earlier, when the court asked as what steps had been taken by the government to evict the illegal occupants during the intervening period, Mr Vahanvati said: “We have written letters to them.”
