New Delhi: After asking her orally to "gracefully" vacate the official bungalow here, Delhi High Court has said Payal Abdullah, estranged wife of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and their sons are "liable to be evicted forthwith", terming their entitlement to retain the bungalow as "wholly illegal".
If Omar and Farooq Abdullah, both 'Z plus' protectees, can be secured while in private accommodation, "there is no reason" why Payal and her sons cannot be, the detailed verdict of Justice Indermeet Kaur made available today said, though the judgement was pronounced on August 19.
The court said Payal's apprehension that she and her sons would not be given adequate security cover was "misconceived" and dismissed her plea to retain the 7 Akbar Road bungalow in Lutyens Delhi.
"Noting the above factual matrix, this court is of the view that the entitlement of the petitioners (Payal and her sons) to retain this accommodation is wholly illegal. It is government accommodation. Petitioners have no claim or right upon it. They are liable to be evicted forthwith. Their apprehension that they will not be given an adequate security cover is misconceived.
"If the husband (Omar) and father-in-law (Farooq) of petitioner 1 (Payal) can be adequately secured (living in private accommodations), there is no reason as to why the petitioners cannot be protected. In fact petitioner 1 is a 'Z' category protectee and Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah are 'Z plus' protectees," the high court said in its order.
On August 16, a trial court here, had asked Payal to move out of the house in Lutyen's zone here. Three days later, Justice Indermeet Kaur had asked Payal's counsel "Will you gracefully evict or I should pass an order?"
However, as the counsel had refused, the high court had said it would be passing a detailed order later on her plea. In its 15-page judgement, the high court said that Payal and her sons were deriving their entitlement to retain the bungalow only through the official position of Omar Abdullah and "have no independent right or claim in this property".
"This accommodation has now been alloted to the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The admitted position as on date is thus that the petitioners are residing in this property as illegal occupants. Their entitlement to stay in the aforenoted government alloted bungalow is no longer available to them. They are admittedly not in government employment," the court said.
