NEW DELHI: Congress leader and former MP Udit Raj on Friday claimed that authorities forcibly evicted his family from his Pandara Park residence in Delhi. He alleged that the eviction action was taken despite the matter being sub judice.
The residence is a government accommodation allotted to his wife, a former IRS officer, Seema Raj. She had written to the Directorate of Estates (DoE) requesting to allow her to stay for some more time so that she could make alternative arrangements.
In an X post, Udit Raj expressed that at the behest of BJP leaders, goods are being forcibly thrown onto the road today, despite a request through the court for an additional month and its hearing falling on 28th October.
The Congress leader, who won the north west Delhi Lok Sabha ticket on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s), further alleged that he was being targeted due to his political activities.
“We are removing our household items ourselves to keep them safe, but the officials are forcibly intervening. The court hearing date is 28th October, and the Ministry has already been served a notice, yet items are being thrown out of my house. We are paying the price for raising our voice for Dalits and backward classes,” his post also read.
No immediate response has come from the government regarding the eviction.
Seema said that she had been writing to the authorities seeking an extension as she couldn’t arrange for alternative accommodation due to a few difficulties. She superannuated from the service in November last year.
“I repeatedly wrote to the Directorate of Estates (DoE) to give some time to arrange for another accommodation. In September, we appealed to the court, and still no action was taken. On 28th October, the matter is listed for the hearing. We have only asked for a one-month stay. They have come deliberately on a day when the courts are not open,” she said.
Udit said that officers from the DoE under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs visited the accommodation on Thursday to inform about the eviction action to be taken on Friday morning.
“My wife is retired and we have no intention to live here any longer, and we are in search of a private accommodation. Our extended stay of five months is attributed to my father-in-law’s prolonged illness and demise. However, by the end of November, we are likely to move to a new house,” he said.
He further stated that the rent for the Pandara Park accommodation is exorbitant, and the family was living only under compulsion.
“The officers who visited today advised us to talk to the Director/ Joint Secretary in the Ministry, and we tried to reach them, but to no avail. My wife has written to the Ministry to briefly extend our stay,” Raj wrote on X on Thursday.
“It seems the Directorate of Estates is deliberately resorting to forcible eviction during holidays despite the matter being sub judice, so that we have no access to any remedy. Many are staying at palatial bungalows on lame excuses,” Udit added.
He said that he had also tried to reach out to the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, but could not be contacted.
“What is the hurry in the case? I am more than willing to vacate the house in the near future, but why is the same not being applied to many 'so-called' upper castes who are occupying even larger houses? I will not budge an inch in my fight for the cause of social justice,” he asserted.
Ministry sources said that Seema Raj had overstayed in the house, and damage charges amounting to Rs 21. 45 Lakh is due against her on account of unauthorised occupation of GPRA houses.
The Pandara Park property was allotted to Seema Raj on February 10, 2024, in her capacity as Principal Director General of Income Tax.
Sources added that Seema was allowed a six-month retention till May 31. She, however, continued to occupy the house for another five months to till date as an unauthorised occupant.
"As she was in unauthorised occupation of the house, her case was referred to the Litigation Section on June 12, 2025, for initiating eviction proceedings against her under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act. The estate officer issued a show cause notice on June 16, and she appeared before the Estate officer on June 23," sources said.
"Thereafter, an eviction order was passed against her on August 5 by the Estate officer under PP Act. Eviction order was served to the party on August 11," they added.
