The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief national spokesperson, Priyanka Kakkar, expressed the party’s respect for the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order to vacate its headquarters office in the Rouse Avenue area of the national capital. The Supreme Court’s decision came as the land was allotted for the expansion of the Delhi High Court’s infrastructure.
Kakkar emphasized that the Supreme Court had also directed the Centre’s Land and Development Office (L&DO) to allocate alternative land for AAP’s office promptly. “We respect the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has also directed that the Centre’s L&DO to allot an alternative land for AAP’s office as soon as possible,” Kakkar stated.
The AAP’s national spokesperson further expressed hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would not engage in regressive, discriminatory, or contentious politics and would promptly allocate land for the Aam Aadmi Party’s office premises at the same location where other national parties have been allotted land for office use in Delhi.
Earlier on the same day, the Supreme Court ruled that the AAP had no legal right to continue its office on the land as it was allocated to the Delhi High Court for expanding the district judiciary. The apex court granted the party until June 15 to vacate the property in light of the impending general elections in the country.
“In view of the impending general elections, we grant time until June 15, 2024, to vacate the premises so that land allotted to expand the district judiciary’s footprint can be utilized on an expeditious basis,” the bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra ordered.
The Supreme Court instructed the L&DO to process the application and communicate its decision within a period of four weeks. The court had previously directed the Delhi government and the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court to convene a meeting to address the issue of encroachment by the AAP on the land designated for the Delhi High Court at Rouse Avenue.
The AAP had refuted allegations of encroachment, asserting that its offices at Rouse Avenue were officially allotted by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and were not encroaching on land designated for the Delhi High Court’s judicial infrastructure.
The developments underscore the legal intricacies surrounding the allocation of land for political party offices and the need for adherence to court directives in resolving such disputes. The AAP’s compliance with the Supreme Court’s order and the subsequent allocation of alternative land by the authorities will be crucial in ensuring the smooth functioning of the party and upholding the rule of law.