Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 11: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has adjourned to May 6 the much-publicised Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking eviction of former ministers and legislators from Government accommodations after the petitioner argued that issues such as recovery of outstanding dues and charging of commercial rent for unauthorized occupation still require adjudication.
The matter came up before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal. During the hearing, Advocate Ayush Pangotra, appearing for former MLC Ravinder Kumar Sharma, informed the court that in compliance with the order dated December 23, 2025, Sharma has vacated the Government accommodation and handed over physical possession of the premises to the Estates Department.
Earlier, Sharma had submitted an affidavit before the court undertaking to vacate the accommodation on or before February 28, 2026. Taking note of the submission, the Division Bench disposed of the writ petition (OWP No. 1120/2017) filed by Ravinder Kumar Sharma as having become infructuous.
In the main PIL (No. 17/2020), Advocate SS Ahmed, along with Advocates Supriya Chouhan and Mohd Zulkarnain Chowdhary appearing for the petitioner, informed the court that the Director Estates for Jammu and Srinagar had filed an affidavit stating that the competent authority has permitted former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former BJP J&K president Ravinder Raina to retain their Government accommodations till March 2026. The affidavit further stated that after the expiry of this period, the matter of allotment or retention will be placed before the designated committee for fresh review.
The Division Bench observed that the PIL had largely served its purpose and could be closed with liberty to the petitioner to approach the court again if the cause survives. However, Advocate SS Ahmed contended that several issues still require consideration, including charging of commercial rent for the period occupants stayed in Government accommodation without holding any office. He also referred to an earlier order dated April 3, 2024 passed by the Division Bench in the same PIL and submitted that the petition specifically seeks recovery of outstanding dues.
After hearing the submissions, the Division Bench adjourned the PIL to May 6, 2026 for further consideration.
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