"Congress Party Ordered to Pay ₹2.66 Crore for Using UPSRTC Vehicles in 1980s," Says Allahabad High Court

In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court has directed the Congress Party to pay ₹2.66 crore to the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) within three months for using its buses and taxis between 1981 and 1989. The division bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manish Kumar rejected Congress's allegations of political vendetta, stating that the amount should be paid along with a 5 percent interest from the due date.

The Court emphasized that the vehicles were provided by UPSRTC for political rallies and other Congress activities. Despite initially showing a willingness to settle the matter, Congress changed its stance over time, raising objections only on technical grounds.

One of the unpaid bills was related to vehicles hired for transporting people to pay homage to the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. The Court noted that the Congress, while in power in Uttar Pradesh, availed facilities for its political activities, sometimes procuring vehicles on the direction of the Chief Minister or concerned Ministers. It added that although some advance payments were made, the remaining bills were left unpaid despite repeated reminders.

The Court rejected Congress's claim that the bills were false, emphasizing that there was no denial of the transactions' receipts. It concluded that the party, while in power, utilized public property for its political purposes and failed to pay the bills raised by UPSRTC.

The State initiated recovery proceedings against Congress in 1998 under the UP Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1972. The Court held these proceedings in November 1998, and the case remained pending for 25 years.

Given the nature of the case involving the recovery of public money, the Court ruled that Congress was obligated to pay the outstanding amount. It directed the UP Congress to settle the amount along with interest within three months.

Senior Advocate JN Mathur, along with Advocates IH Farooqui, Karunesh Kumar Srivastava, and Prabhat Kumar Tripathi, represented the petitioner, while Advocates DK Srivastava, M Chandra, Prabhu Ranjan Tripathi, T Somwanshi, and Vishal Singh represented the respondents.

Author: Anushka Taraniya

News Writer, MIT ADT University