The Patna High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Bihar government and all former chief ministers, as well as incumbent Nitish Kumar, for being allotted official bungalows for lifetime, PTI reported. The court will hear the case next on February 11.
A division bench of Chief Justice AP Sahi and Justice Anjana Mishra gave the state government and the former chief ministers four weeks to file their responses. The court also sought to know why it should not quash the Amendment Act framed by the state government in 2010, which allows for bungalows to be allotted for life.
The court observed that public servants become common citizens after they leave office, The Hindu reported. Kumar is currently in possession of three government bungalows – two in Bihar and one in New Delhi.
Former chief ministers Satish Kumar Singh, Jagannath Mishra, Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jitan Ram Manjhi were also allotted government bungalows.
The court issued the notices after taking suo motu cognisance of the Amendment Act on Monday while hearing an appeal filed by Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. A single-bench order on Monday had dismissed Yadav’s petition to retain his official bungalow at 5, Deshratna Marg, allotted to him while he was deputy chief minister in 2015. Yadav still occupies the official residence even after the Rashtriya Janta Dal pulled out of its alliance with Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).
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