Court Asks Omar Abdullah's Estranged Wife To 'Gracefully' Vacate Government Home

New Delhi: There was no relief for Payal Abdullah, the estranged wife of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, today when the Delhi High Court rejected her plea to continue living in a government accommodation.

"Will you gracefully evict, or should I pass and order?" Justice Indermeet Kaur asked Ms Abdullah's counsel, while observing that every person "who retired from office, had to move out."

Ms Abdullah, along with her two sons, has been residing at 7, Akbar Road in New Delhi since 1999. The government bungalow is the official residence of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government had opposed Ms Abdullah's stay at 7 Akbar Road saying it didn't have proper accommodations for its Chief Minister,  

In her plea Ms Abdullah sought parity with Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and BJP MP Subramaniam Swamy, saying that she too required government accommodation in view of existing threats to her life and the lives of her children.

Justice Kaur also noted that it will be the responsibility of the Delhi Police to provide 'Z plus' security to both Ms Abdullah and her children, during their stay in the capital. The Ministry of Home Affairs also submitted in court today that will be no substantial reduction in Ms Abdullah's security cover.

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The Ministry of Home Affairs said that Ms Abdullah and her family are provided security according to "a general threat perceived from Kashmiri militants for being the family member of Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah, and in Delhi their threat quotient is assessed to be lower than in Kashmir."

Ms Abdullah told the court that while she has a flat in New Delhi, it would be "totally insufficient for making elaborate security arrangements for their protection" as there were other flats in the same building.

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