SC: Sharad Yadav will retain official residence but not draw allowances

Sharad Yadav

Rebel JD-U leader Sharad Yadav will continue to occupy his official accommodation in the national capital as the Supreme Court on Thursday did not interfere with a Delhi High Court order allowing him to retain the official bungalow on Tughlaq Road here.

Observing that the issue of official accommodation could be looked into at an "appropriate level in accordance with law", the vacation bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan took on record a statement that Sharad Yadav would not draw any "remuneration or other perks" till the matter was decided by the high court.

Senior counsel Guru Krishna Kumar made the statement that Yadav would not draw any remuneration and allowances as the bench observed: "how can high court give him public money?"

The top court also said that the division bench of the high court would decide the matter listed for hearing on July 12 at the earliest.

"Since on account of delay in proceedings, the election to vacant posts (in the Rajya Sabha) may be delayed, we request the high court to decide the writ petition at the earliest," the court said in its order.

The court also recorded statements by the counsels for both parties -- petitioner and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Rajya Sabha member Ram Chander Prasad Singh and Sharad Yadav -- that they would not seek any adjournment.

The court asked the division bench to hear the matter as senior counsel Ranjit Kumar appearing for the petitioner referred to an earlier top court ruling which had said that all such matters involving challenge to disqualification of lawmakers should be heard by the division bench.

Ranjit Kumar also told the court that due to the pendency of the matter, the election to fill two vacancies caused by the disqualification of Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar was not taking place.

Ram Chandra Prasad Singh -- a former bureaucrat -- is the leader of the JD-U in upper House of Parliament.

He succeeded Sharad Yadav as the leader of JD-U in the Rajya Sabha after the latter was disqualified for opposing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for dumping Grand Alliance in the state comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal, JD-U and the Congress in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

The high court, while refusing to interfere with his disqualification by Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu as a JD-U member in the Upper House, had by an interim order allowed him to continue to stay in the official residence until his plea against his disqualification was decided.

The high court had also allowed Yadav to draw allowances and perquisites.

Thursday's order came on a petition filed by Ram Chandra Prasad Singh challenging the Delhi High Court order.