Jammu & Kashmir High Court directs Govt to evict former ministers, legislators who are in illegal occupation of govt bungalows

Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed the Government of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to take all necessary steps for eviction of the former ministers, legislators, retired officers and politicians from government accommodations and ministerial bungalows (Court on its own motion V/s Union Territory of JK & Ors). .A Division Bench comprising Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul took exception to the fact that some of the former ministers, law makers and politicians are continuing to illegally occupy government accommodations despite no longer being entitled to the same. .“It is very unfortunate that some former ministers, legislators, retired officers and politicians have illegally and unauthorizedly managed to continue to stay in the residential accommodations provided to them by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, though they are no longer entitled to such accommodation," the Court said. .The observations and directions came in a suo motu case initiated by the Court to deal with the issue. .The bench observed that the unauthorized occupants must realize that rights and duties go correlative to each other, inasmuch as the rightsof one person entail the duties of another person, whereas, the duties of one person entail the rights of another person. In this context, the unauthorized occupants must appreciate that their act of overstaying in the premises directly infringes the right of another. No law or direction can entirely control this act of disobedience, but for self-realization among the unauthorized occupants, it added..The Court, therefore, proceeded to direct the Chief Secretary and Secretary Estates Department to take all possible steps to ensure eviction of all illegal occupants from government accommodations including ministerial bungalows and special houses..In this regard, reliance was placed on the Supreme Court judgments in SD Bandi v. Divisional Traffic Officer, Karnakata (2013) and Lok Prahari v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. (2016). .“The Chief Secretary of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Secretary to Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Estates Department, shall take all possible steps for ensuring eviction of the illegal/unauthorized occupants including former Ministers, Legislators, Retired officers, Politicians, Political persons from Government accommodation comprising Ministerial Bungalows and Special Houses in tune with the mandate of law provided by the Supreme Court in the two Judgments in case titled SD Bandi v. Divisional Traffic Officer, Karnakata (2013) and Lok Prahari v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. (2016),” the Court ordered. .Apart from that, the Court also directed both the departments to ensure recovery of rental/arrears of rent as land revenue from the occupants of the accommodation for the period for which they were in authorized/unauthorized occupation of the such accommodation .Further, it was observed that natural resources, public lands and public goods like government bungalows and official residences arepublic property that belongs to the people of the country. The ‘Doctrine of Equality’, which emerges from the concepts of justice and fairness must guide the State in the distribution or allocation of the same, it said.