In the much publicized Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking eviction of ex-Ministers/ex-legislators from the Ministerial Bunglows, Additional Advocate General Amit Gupta appearing for the UT of J&K today informed a Division Bench of High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh comprising Chief Justice (Acting) Tashi Rabstan and Justice Puneet Gupta that all the ex-Ministers, ex-legislators and political persons except former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and State President BJP Ravinder Raina have been directed to vacate the Bunglows immediately after the conclusion of election process.
When the matter came-up for hearing, Advocate Supriya Chouhan appearing for the PIL, submitted that ex-legislators/ex-Ministers are required to be evicted immediately as new dispensation is likely to be in place within two weeks. She further submitted that directions of the Apex Court have been flouted by UT Administration with impunity.
At this Stage, AAG Amit Gupta appearing for UT submitted that pursuant to the directions of the Division Bench and as per the decision taken by the Designated Committee ex-Ministers/ex-legislators namely Zahid Hussain Jan, S S Channi, Abdul Majid Paddar, Zafar Iqbal Manhas, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, Fayaz Ahmed Mir (eX-MP), Abdul Gani Vakil, Hakim Mohd Yaseen, Mohd Abbas Wani, Abdul Rahim Rather, Bashir Ahmed Dar, Mohd Amin Bhat, Yasir Reshi, M Y Tarigami, Surinder Amberdar, Sajad Gani Lone, Raja Manzoor, Sofi Yousaf, Tariq Hussain Keen, Kavinder Gupta, Sunil Sharma, GM Saroori, Dalip Singh Parihar, Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar, Sat Sharma, RS Pathania, family of late Rajesh Gupta, Molvi Imran Raza Ansari, Vibodh Gupta, Pardeep Sharma and Neelam Langeh have been directed to vacate the Government Bunglows immediately after the conclusion of election process.
He further submitted that two politicians—former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad and J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina will continue to enjoy the Government accommodation as per the recommendations of Designated Committee.
The Division Bench directed the Registry to re-notify the instant PIL on October 30, 2024.
