The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court’s contempt proceedings against Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal for allegedly failing to pay rent for the government bungalow he was staying in. A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman stayed the contempt proceedings on a plea filed by the Union Minister of Education. The Uttarakhand HC had on May 3 last year ordered the former chief ministers of the state to pay market rent for the entire period they continued to occupy government accommodation since demitting office. The high court had declared all government orders from 2001 providing housing and other facilities to former chief ministers in the state as illegal and unconstitutional.