Chandigarh, June 8 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has stayed the penal rent recovery notice slapped by the Chandigarh administration on TVSN Prasad, Haryana Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and former state chief secretary. Prasad retired as chief secretary on October 31, 2024 and was appointed as CIC on May 23, 2025. The HC bench of justice Kuldeep Tiwari acted on the plea from Prasad, who had challenged the Rs.31.13 lakh recovery notice issued to him on April 23. The court observed that facts of the case prima facie suggest that the respondent authorities are required to re-visit the decision in question. "Needless to observe that if the respondent authorities intend to reconsider the matter in the meanwhile, they are at liberty to do so. Till the next date of hearing, no recovery shall be effected from the petitioner, in pursuance of the impugned order," the court said while seeking response from the administration by August 25. According to the plea, the penal rent has been calculated for the period from May 26, 2025 to February 23, 2026 on account of unauthorised possession of the Sector 16 house that he had occupied as chief secretary. The plea mentions that, upon retirement, he was entitled to retain the house till February 2025. Upon appointment as CIC, he moved an application for re-allotment of the same house. The said application remained under consideration of the authorities for quite a long time, and eventually he was granted permission to retain the house on February 24, 2026. Apparently, the delay was on the part of the Chandigarh administration to take the application to its logical end, for which, the petitioner cannot be saddled with the penal rent and interest, he argued before the court. The court was further informed that the petitioner had been appointed as CIC with effect from May 26, 2025 and had thereafter become entitled to retain/continue in the said accommodation in accordance with the applicable policy and past practices. The petitioner has already paid penal rent up to May 25, 2025, till the date of assuming office of the CIC, calculated at Rs.3.22 lakh, he had told the court seeking quashing of the penal rent recovery notice....