Former Shimla Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi has been ordered to immediately vacate the official SP residence in Shimla and has been slapped with a penal rent of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh for continuing to occupy the accommodation for months after his transfer.
DGP Issues Eviction Order
In a letter addressed to Gandhi, Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Tewari directed him to hand over possession of the residence to the incumbent SSP, Gaurav Singh, without any further delay. Gandhi served as SSP Shimla until February 7, 2026. He was subsequently posted as Managing Director of Milkfed and later appointed Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Traffic, Tourism and Railways (TTR), Shimla.
Legal Basis for Penalty
The DGP's letter stated that under Rule 10(2) of the Himachal Pradesh Allotment of Government Residences (General Pool) Rules, 1994, an officer occupying an earmarked government residence after transfer is required to vacate the accommodation within one month of handing over charge. Accordingly, Gandhi's permissible period of retention expired on March 6, 2026, and his occupation of the residence from March 7 onwards has been treated as unauthorised.
"As per Rule 10(2) of the Himachal Pradesh Allotment of Government Residences (General Pool) Rules, 1994, an officer occupying an earmarked residence on transfer is required to vacate the accommodation within one month from the date of handing over charge. Accordingly, the permissible period of retention of the accommodation expired on March 6, 2026, and consequently the occupation from March 7, 2026, is treated as unauthorised," the letter stated.
Previous Warnings Ignored
The letter further noted that Gandhi had earlier been requested to vacate the residence in May, but he continued to occupy the premises. The DGP warned that if the penal rent amount is not deposited immediately, it would be recovered from Gandhi's salary. In addition, damage charges accruing from June 1 onwards would continue to be levied and recovered on a month-to-month basis until the accommodation is vacated.
The SP residence is earmarked for the serving SSP of Shimla and is presently required to be handed over to Gaurav Singh, who took over the charge earlier this year.
