SC orders RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to vacate bungalow for deputy CM; slaps Rs 50,000 fine

Patna, February 9: The Supreme Court Friday imposed Rs 50,000 fine on former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and dismissed his plea challenging Patna high court's order directing him to vacate the government bungalow meant for the deputy chief minister directing him to shift to an accommodation for the leader of opposition.

 

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, justice Deepak Gupta, and Sanjiv Khanna imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on the RJD leader for challenging the decision.

The sprawling bungalow at 5, Deshratan Marg was allotted to Yadav in 2015 upon his appointment as the deputy chief minister of the then 'grand alliance' government headed by Nitish Kumar. Even after RJD lost power in the state, Tejashwi continues to stay in the same bungalow.

On January 7, the three-judge bench had rejected the RJD leader's appeal challenging a single order on October 6, 2018, turning down his petition against the state government's direction imposing a fine of Rs. 50,000 on the RJD leader for pursuing litigation up to the top court even after two benches of the high court dismissed his plea.

The petitioner has been allotted a bungalow, matching his status as a minister in the government at 1, polo road, Patna. He cannot raise the objection on the decision so taken, simply because the present bungalow is more suited to him, the single-judge order stated that Tejashwi Yadav occupies the 5, Desh Ratna Marg bungalow at stone's throw from the Raj Bhavan and the chief minister's official residence. Tejashwi, however, decided to move an appeal to the Supreme Court against the order.