UDIT RAJ, CONGRESSMAN & EX-IRS THROWN OUT OF PALATIAL GOVERNMENT HOUSE IN DELHI AFTER 1.5 YEARS OF RETIREMENT

WHY WERE UDIT RAJ AND HIS EX-IRS OFFICER WIFE SEEMA RAJ EVICTED?

• More than a year after her retirement, ex-Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Seema Raj and her husband, Congress politician Udit Raj, were evicted on Friday from a Type 6 government bungalow at Pandara Park in New Delhi in yet another controversy surrounding government accommodations.
• The action taken by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) comes just days before a Patiala House Court hearing on Raj’s petition challenging the eviction order.
• While Seema Raj declined to comment on whether she believed the eviction was politically motivated, Udit Raj went on X alleging the action was driven by caste bias. “We are paying the price for raising our voice for Dalits and backward classes,” he wrote.

WHEN WAS THE EVICTION ORDER ISSUED AND WHAT DID SEEMA HAVE TO SAY IN HER DEFENCE?

• The eviction order was issued in August 2025 after a hearing, according to a note from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• “Despite that, she has not vacated the house,” the note said, adding that damage charges of about Rs 21.45 lakh had accumulated for unauthorized occupation of the government residence.
• Seema Raj, who retired in November 2023, said that she had been granted permission to retain the accommodation until May 31, 2025, citing her father’s prolonged illness.
• “I had paid the required licence fee for the extended period. My father was critically ill and hospitalised for months at Apollo Hospital,” she said.
• She added that she later sought extension, offering to pay market rent as her father’s condition deteriorated.
• “However, around six weeks ago, the Directorate issued an eviction order. The order itself mentioned that I could appeal, so I did so within the stipulated time,” Seema said.
• The matter, she added, was pending before a Patiala House court and was listed for hearing on October 28.
• “Despite that, they arrived suddenly today, four days before the court hearing, and started throwing our belongings on the road,” she alleged. “We had already decided to vacate by November-end, but this was completely uncalled for.”
• In her petition, Seema cited her 36 years of government service and her family’s legacy of public service – noting that her father too had served in the government for over three decades.
• “Allowing us a few more days to make alternative arrangements would not have been unreasonable,” she said.
• Udit Raj, who had served in the IRS before joining politics, was elected as a BJP MP from North West Delhi in 2019. He joined the Congress after being denied a ticket ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
• Recently, the Directorate of Estates has faced scrutiny from the Delhi High Court over irregularities and delays in the allocation of government residences, particularly in a case related to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal. Following the court’s intervention, Kejriwal was allotted a Type 7 bungalow in Lodhi Estate.

Editor’s Note

• The eviction of Congress leader and former IRS officer Udit Raj’s family from their government residence is more than a bureaucratic episode — it exposes the uneasy intersection of politics, privilege, and social identity in India’s power corridors. While the government cites procedure, the manner and timing of the eviction — days before a court hearing — raise uncomfortable questions about due process and dignity. Udit Raj’s claim of caste bias adds another layer to an already volatile mix of administrative rigidity and political undercurrent. In a democracy, the state’s power to enforce rules must always be balanced with compassion and fairness — lest governance turn into intimidation cloaked as legality. .
• #uditraj #seemaraj #irs #delhipolitics