Raghav Chadha cannot claim he has absolute right to continue to occupy govt bungalow: Court
New Delhi(PTI): A Delhi court has said that AAP's Raghav Chadha cannot claim that he has an absolute right to continue to occupy the government bungalow during his entire tenure as a Member of the Rajya Sabha even after the cancellation of allotment.
Additional District Judge Sudhanshu Kaushik made the observation while vacating an interim order passed on April 18 that had directed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat not to dispossess Chadha from the government bungalow.
Reacting to the order, Chadha said he would be taking appropriate action in law in due course.
"The trial court had initially accepted my plea and granted me interim relief. It has now returned my case on a legal technicality, which I am legally advised to state is based on an incorrect understanding of the law. I will be taking appropriate action in law in due course," he said in a statement.
In an order passed on October 5, the judge said the argument that the accommodation once made to a Member of Parliament cannot be cancelled under any circumstances during the member's entire tenure deserves to be rejected.
"It may also be added that plaintiff has no vested right in the accommodation and his status is akin to that of a licensee, which can be revoked by the competent authority at any time. Plaintiff cannot claim that he has an absolute right to continue to occupy the accommodation during his entire tenure as a Member of Rajya Sabha," the judge said.
The judge said the allotment of government accommodation is "only a privilege given to the plaintiff and he has no vested right to continue to occupy the same even after the cancellation of allotment."
The judge noted that the interim relief was granted to Chadha that he would not be dispossessed from the accommodation without due process of law.
"This is certainly an error apparent on the face of the record and the same needs to be corrected. Accordingly, the order dated April 18, 2023 stands recalled and the interim order stands vacated," the judge said.
The judge added that Chadha failed to demonstrate that any urgent or immediate relief needed to be granted in the matter.
The court had in April directed the secretariat not to dispossess Chadha of the bungalow till the pendency of the application "without due process of law".
Chadha's counsel had urged the court to grant an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against the secretariat, claiming it was "hell bent" to evict Chadha from the allotted accommodation.
He contended Chadha will suffer irreparable injury, in case the injunction was not granted.
Chadha was on July 6 last year allotted a 'Type 6' bungalow at Pandara Park but he made a representation to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha on August 29 requesting for a 'Type 7' accommodation.
He was then allotted another bungalow on Pandara Road from the Rajya Sabha pool.
However, in March this year, the allotment was cancelled. Chadha sought an injunction to the effect that the secretariat be restrained from taking any further action in consequence of the March 3 letter and be restrained from allotting the bungalow to some other person.
The AAP MP also sought Rs 5.5 lakh in damages from the secretariat for causing him mental agony and harassment.
As a first-time MP, Chadha is entitled to a Type-5 accommodation in the normal course, according to the Rajya Sabha Members Handbook released in April 2022.
The handbook says MPs who are former Union Cabinet Ministers, former Governors or former Chief Ministers and former Lok Sabha Speakers, are entitled to Type-7 bungalows, the second largest category available to Rajya Sabha MPs.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
