The Supreme Court today allowed Sharad Yadav to retain his official residence, refusing to interfere with the Delhi High Court's order on the same. Rebel JD-U leader Sharad Yadav's official residence is on Tuglaq Road in central New Delhi, which he has been entitled to as a Member of Parliment (MP).
The case was heard by the vacation bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan, who permitted Yadav to stay but refused to allow him to draw allowances till the matter was decided by the Delhi High Court. The top court also said that the division bench of the High Court will take the final call, and is scheduled for the hearing on July 12.
The High Court, while refusing to interfere with Yadav's disqualification by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, had, by an interim order on May 18, allowed him to continue living in the official residence until the plea against his disqualification was decided. The High Court had also allowed Yadav to draw allowances and perquisites.
The case came to the Supreme Court after it was filed by Rajya Sabha member Ram Chandra Prasad Singh of Janata Dal-United (JDU), who challenged the High Court's order. His senior counsel Ranjit Kumar said that due to the case in the High Court, the election to fill two vacancies caused by the disqualification of Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar was not taking place.
Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar were disqualified as Rajya Sabha members after they rebelled against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to join hands with the BJP-led NDA after severing ties with the Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress. Yadav, instead, joined the RJD and Congress alliance, prompting Venkaiah Naidu to disqualify him.
He was disqualified on December 4, 2017, under the Anti Defection Act, which he challenged saying it was extremely "casual." Nitish Kumar, in a statement to the court, said that he found the dismissal valid since Yadav had formed another party.
