Updated: November 17, 2020 8:07:29 pm
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. (Archive)
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has filed a motion with the Supreme Court against the issuance of a notice by the Uttarakhand High Court on a petition to initiate contempt proceedings against him for failing to comply with his order to pay. the market rent of a government bungalow assigned to him as a former Chief Minister.
Koshyari, who requested the suspension of the high court order, claimed that he is the acting governor of Maharashtra and referred to article 361 of the Constitution, which protects the president and governors from invoking such procedures.
The allegation stated that the market rent amount had been arrived at for no reason whatsoever and is very exorbitant for residential premises in Dehradun and has not been determined without providing an opportunity to hear it.
Lead Attorney Aman Sinha will defend the Governor of Maharashtra in the matter before the High Court. Koshyari has requested the suspension of the contempt proceedings in the Uttarakhand High Court.
The petition challenging the higher court order has been filed through defenders Ardhendhu Mauli Prasad and Pravesh Thakur.
Sinha had previously argued the same case in which the High Court had suspended contempt proceedings initiated against Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal for alleged breach of last year’s order of the Uttarakhand High Court on the payment of rent. of the former chief ministers of the state for occupying the government. accommodation.
On May 3 last year, the Uttarakhand High Court ordered the former chief ministers of the state to pay a market rent for the entire period that they continued to occupy government premises since leaving office.
The high court had declared all 2001 government orders that provided housing and other facilities to former chief ministers of the state illegal and unconstitutional.
The higher court had ordered that all amounts owed and payable for services such as electricity, water, gasoline, oil and lubricants provided by the state to former chief ministers be calculated by the state government within four months from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
He had also said that the amount will be communicated to the former prime ministers, who within six months of the date of said intimidation, will pay said amount to the state government.
The high court had approved the order at the request of an NGO based in Dehradun.
The NGO had filed an appeal with the higher court alleging non-compliance with the order.
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