LAHORE, Dec 19: A Lahore High Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, on Wednesday ruled that there was no legal bar for taking action against a judge or any official who continued to occupy an official residence beyond the permitted 30-day period after retirement.

The bench had initiated contempt proceedings against Home Secretary Khusru Pervaiz, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Malik Mohammad Iqbal and Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Aftab Ahmed Cheema for failing to maintain “law and order” in the Government Officers Residences (GOR-I). The directives had been issued after students, civil society representatives and lawyers started a vigil there in the wake of apprehensions that Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqi, the LHC judge who did not take oath under the Nov 3 PCO, might be forcibly evicted from his official residence.

Justice Siddiqi had stated last month that the LHC registrar could not issue a notice to him to vacate the official residence since in his opinion he was still a judge of the high court. The deposed judge instead issued a contempt notice to the registrar for asking him to vacate the house.

When the controversy persisted, the LHC bench declared the GOR-I out of bound for outsiders.

The proceedings were held in-camera.

Releasing the detailed verdict, the bench observed: “After retirement, a maximum period of 30 days is permissible for a former judge to reside in an official residence. Thereafter, if the house is required to be allotted to another judge, the same can be vacated under provisions of the Punjab Government Buildings and Lands (Recovery) Ordinance by following summary procedure as prescribed in the statute.”

It was not a vested right of a judge or a public servant to get an official residence, rather it was a privilege of the competent authority, the bench added.

“If any public functionary, including a judge overstays, he is bound to pay the rent for the residence, the maintenance charges and utility bills,” the bench said.