HP High Court Orders Probe Against Officials For Allowing Govt Doctor To Retain Accommodation For Over A Decade Despite Transfer
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed an inquiry against the concerned officers/officials for allegedly allowing a Medical Officer to retain earmarked government accommodation at Hamirpur for more than a decade after his transfer, observing that such continued retention would not have been possible without the officials concerned being “hand in glove” with the petitioner.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel remarked that: “An inquiry has to be initiated against the Officer(s)/Official(s) concerned, who have allowed the petitioner to retain an earmarked accommodation of a Medical Officer for more than a decade, i.e., beyond the period prescribed to retain the same.
Background:
The petitioner, a Medical Officer, was allotted a Type-IV departmental government accommodation at Hamirpur in July 2016. He was subsequently transferred from Hamirpur to Shimla in 2017. He sought permission to retain the accommodation on the ground that his wife was also serving in District Hamirpur and their child was studying there.
The petitioner continued to represent for retention of the accommodation. In August and October 2023, however, the authorities directed him to deposit damage charges amounting to Rs. 12,90,959/-, calculated from November 2017. Aggrieved by the same, he approached the High Court.
The Court held that the accommodation allotted to the petitioner was not common pool accommodation but earmarked accommodation meant for Medical Officers and above-ranked officers posted in District Hamirpur. Since the petitioner's wife was not a doctor, she could not have been allotted the accommodation.
The Court held that after his transfer from Hamirpur, the petitioner was legally bound to vacate the accommodation after expiry of the permissible retention period. His continued possession thereafter was unauthorized.
The Court found that the petitioner's retention of the earmarked accommodation for more than a decade warranted an inquiry against the concerned officers/officials who had allowed him to continue occupying it
The Court held that the authorities were justified in directing the petitioner to deposit the damage charges and were also entitled to recover penal rent/damage charges from the date of unauthorized occupation until the premises were vacated. The writ petition was accordingly dismissed with costs of ₹50,000.
Case Name: Dr. Narender Kumar Bhardwaj V/s State of H.P. & Ors.
Case No.: CWP No.9187 of 2023
Date of Decision: 29.07.2026
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