HC takes Suo-motu cognisance against Ex-CPSs over retention of state Accommodation

ML Verma Published: May 7, 2026 | Updated: May 7, 2026 2 minutes read

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Shimla, May 7

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Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken serious note of six former Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs) continuing to occupy government accommodation despite the court having declared their appointments unconstitutional earlier.

Hearing a suo motu matter titled Court on its own motion versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi observed on May 5 that the former CPSs were neither paying licence fees nor was any deduction being made from their salaries by the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat.

The court noted from the affidavit filed by the state that the six ex-CPSs were still using government houses even after the High Court had struck down their appointments as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries.

The Bench observed that the State had allowed them to continue in the accommodation subject to the final outcome of the Special Leave Petition pending before the Supreme Court of India.

However, the High Court clarified that the Supreme Court had not stayed the entire High Court judgment. The Bench recorded that only the issue relating to disqualification of the MLAs and paragraph 53 of the judgment had been stayed by the apex court.

In a significant observation, the court said: “It is apparently clear that neither the licence fee is being paid by the said Ex-Chief Parliamentary Secretaries nor it is being deducted by the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Secretariat from their salaries.”

The Bench further observed: “They continue to utilize the said Government Accommodation(s), which are far beyond their entitlement and no steps have been taken to cancel the same on account of the decision of the State Government.”