The Patna High Court has dismissed an appeal by former Bihar MLA Avanish Kumar Singh, upholding a ₹20.98 lakh penalty imposed on him for unauthorized occupation of a government bungalow after resigning from the Legislative Assembly.
The court observed that the moment Singh ceased to be an MLA, he was no longer entitled to retain Government Quarter No.3, Taylor Road, Patna. Despite this, he continued to occupy the bungalow from April 14, 2014, to May 12, 2016, without legal authority.
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“The petitioner should have vacated the quarter immediately after resigning and requested appropriate accommodation under the 2008 notification. Instead, he illegally continued his stay and pressed for regularization,” the court stated.
Singh, a five-time MLA from the Dhaka constituency, resigned in March 2014 to contest the Lok Sabha elections. After losing, he was nominated to the “State Legislature Research and Training Bureau.” He argued that a 2008 notification entitled members of this bureau to MLA-level perks, including housing.
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However, the High Court clarified that the notification did not grant him the right to continue staying in the same MLA-allocated quarter. The judges stressed that the government bungalow belonged to the ministerial pool and had already been re-allotted to another minister.
“It nowhere provides that a former MLA can retain the same quarter. The notification only allows general benefits such as accommodation, not a specific entitlement to a previous allocation,” the court held.
Singh had earlier approached the court in 2015 over the same issue but withdrew the case unconditionally. The court applied the principle of constructive res judicata, ruling that a second petition on the same matter was not legally maintainable.
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In defending the ₹20.98 lakh rent demand, government authorities argued that Singh ignored repeated requests to vacate and continued to occupy the premises without approval. They highlighted that the quarter was officially de-allotted and reassigned to another minister.
The High Court cited multiple judgments, including Lok Prahari v. State of U.P. and S.D. Bandi v. Karnataka SRTC, affirming that public figures cannot hold on to government accommodations after their entitlement ends.
“Rights and duties go hand in hand. Continued unauthorized occupation infringes the rights of those entitled. Former officials must realize that public properties are for current use, not for personal claims,” the court remarked.
The judges also ordered Singh to pay interest at 6% per annum on the penal rent from the date of the demand letter until payment. The appeal stands dismissed.
Case Title: Avanish Kumar Singh v. The State of Bihar & Ors.
Case No.: Letters Patent Appeal No. 459 of 2021 in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 19359 of 2016
