Srinagar- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday granted four weeks to the Estates Department to complete the process recommended by the Designated Committee regarding government accommodation occupied by former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former BJP chief Ravinder Raina.

The direction was passed by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal while hearing a public interest litigation seeking eviction of former ministers and legislators from government quarters. The Bench made it clear that no further adjournment would be allowed. The directive came after Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli, appearing for the government, requested more time to finalise the issue.

During the hearing of PIL No. 17 of 2020, petitioner's counsel Advocate S S Ahmed referred to the latest status report of the Estates Department. The report stated that the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct during the Nagrota and Budgam by elections had delayed the final decision and the department required eight more weeks to complete the process.

Advocate Ahmed argued that the Designated Committee had already met in February and March this year and more than eight months had passed without action. He submitted that the Model Code of Conduct had lapsed and urged the court to give the government no more than ten days to take a final decision.

He also informed the court that some dignitaries continued to occupy government accommodation in Jammu and Srinagar. He produced an RTI communication showing that a former Deputy Chief Minister was still living in a government quarter in Jammu. The RTI was handed to the Senior AAG in open court and examined by the Bench.

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