High Court notice to Khanduri in rent case

Nainital, November 26 

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday issued a notice to former Chief Minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri for not responding to earlier notices in connection with a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging the non-recovery of enough rent from former chief ministers for occupying government houses for years after demitting office.

The former chief ministers named in the PIL, including Khanduri, have already vacated the accommodations after the intervention of the 

High Court. 

Taking a strict view of Khanduri not responding to the earlier notices sent to him by the registered post, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice Lok Pal Singh directed that the notice be served to him personally.

The Bench also gave the former Chief Minister 10 days' time to respond to the notice failing which the court might have to take resort to the publication of the notice in a paper, counsel for the petitioner Kartikeya Hari Gupta said.                     

According to the PIL, appropriate rent was not recovered from the former chief ministers as it was calculated "illegally" at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month which is "much less" than the current market rate.

 The rent calculation has been done illegally and on the basis of a government order of year 2004 and the 1997 Rules which have already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the counsel claimed.

The court examined the method of rent calculation done by the state government and wondered how the government can calculate the rent on the 

basis of a 2004 government order.

  The petitioner has also objected to a meagre rent paid by former chief ministers Vijay Bahuguna and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, stating that their payment is not in accordance with the Supreme Court order which had ordered the recovery of "appropriate rent" from the former CMs.

The High Court, in its order dated February 16, 2017, had also directed the state government to calculate the rent on the market rate which the government has not calculated till date, the petitoner said. — PTI 

Ex-CM given 10 days to respond

• The Bench also gave former Chief Minister BC Khanduri (pic) 10 days' time to respond to the notice failing which the court might have to take resort to the publication of the notice in a paper, counsel for the petitioner Kartikeya Hari Gupta said.                     
• According to the PIL, appropriate rent was not recovered from the former chief ministers as it was calculated "illegally" at the rate of Rs 1,000 per month which is "much less" than the current market rate.