Supreme Court orders AAP to vacate its Delhi headquarters of Aam Aadmi Party as land allotted for HC expansion

 

Supreme Court observed that AAP has no legal right to continue its office on the land and gave the party till June 15 to vacate the property

Supreme Court on Monday asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to vacate its headquarters office in the Rouse Avenue area of Delhi as the land was allotted for the expansion of Delhi High Court's infrastructure. The apex court said that AAP has no legal right to continue its office on the land and gave the party till June 15 to vacate the property.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked AAP  to approach the Land And Development Office to get allotment of land for its offices. "We would request the L&DO to process the application and communicate its decision within four weeks," news agency PTI quoted the bench as saying.

The apex court had previously instructed the Delhi government and the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to convene a meeting aimed at addressing the issue of encroachment by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the land designated for the High Court at Rouse Avenue.

Appearing for the AAP, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi argued that the party is one of the six recognized national parties in the country and must get its offices in a better place. "They are telling us as a national party we get nothing. I'm given Badarpur, while everyone else is in better places," Singhvi said.

Given that the Lok Sabha elections 2024 are just months away, the CJI-led bench asked the party to vacate the Rouse Avenue office by June 15.