NEW DELHI: Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari approached Supreme Court, challenging a Uttarakhand high court notice to him on a contempt plea for alleged failure to pay market rent for a government bungalow allotted to him as a former chief minister.
The HC issued a notice as the apex court ruled that former CMs were not entitled to an official bungalow and directed states to get the premises vacated within two months and recover market rent from them. Over Rs, 47 lakh was raised against Koshyari for using government premises in Dehradun from 2003-16.
Koshiyari said, “The amount of rent has been arrived at without rationale and is highly exorbitant for residential premises, and have been ascertained without affording an opportunity of participation of the petitioner in the process, which renders the process of determination of market rent arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of the principle of natural justice.”
The HC had passed the order on a petition filed by Dehradun NGO, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, accusing the former CM of committing “willful non-compliance” of the court’s May 3, 2019 order.
