The Directorate of Estates took action on Tuesday by serving an eviction notice to former TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who faced expulsion from the Lok Sabha last month, according to sources within the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. The government has directed Moitra to promptly vacate the bungalow assigned to her as an MP. In response to the eviction notice issued on Tuesday, officials from the directorate of estates will be dispatched to ensure the swift vacation of the government residence, a source informed PTI.
Having been expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 of the previous year, the Trinamool Congress leader had previously been instructed to vacate the premises by January 7 following the cancellation of her allotment.
On January 8, the Directorate of Estates issued a notice, demanding Moitra's response within three days regarding her continued occupancy of the government accommodation. Another notice followed on January 12.
On January 4, the Delhi High Court advised Moitra to approach the Directorate of Estates with a request to extend her stay in the allocated government accommodation. Justice Subramoniun Prasad, addressing Moitra's challenge to the official communication instructing her to vacate by January 7, acknowledged that rules allowed authorities to permit a resident to overstay for up to six months under certain charges in exceptional circumstances.
The court permitted Moitra to withdraw her petition, emphasizing that it had not expressed any opinions on the merits of the case. It stated that the Directorate of Estates should independently decide on her case and emphasized the legal requirement of issuing a notice before eviction, urging the government to proceed in accordance with the law.
Moitra faced allegations of "unethical conduct" and was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 for purportedly accepting gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her Parliament website user ID and password with him.
(With Agency Inputs)
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