AAP now has till August 10 to shift office from Rouse Avenue in Delhi, SC extends deadline
On March 4, the SC had allowed AAP time till June 15 to move its office as the premises was allotted to the Delhi High Court for expansion of judicial infrastructure
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On March 4, the SC allowed the AAP time till June 15 to move its office as the premises on Rouse Avenue had been allotted to the Delhi High Court for expansion of judicial infrastructure. (Express Archive) The Supreme Court Monday extended till August 10 the time given to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to shift its national head office from the Rouse Avenue premises.
Hearing an application by the party, a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said it was granting the extension as a “last opportunity”.
The court added that this will also be subject to the AAP’s undertaking to hand over vacant and peaceful possession of the premises on or before August 10, 2024.
On March 4, the SC had allowed AAP time till June 15 to move its office as the premises was allotted to the Delhi High Court for expansion of judicial infrastructure. This was done in view of the impending Lok Sabha election then.
The SC on March 4 also permitted AAP to move the Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Government of India for allotment of land to set up the party’s office. It also asked the L&DO to process the application in accordance with the law and communicate the decision within a period of four weeks.
On Monday, the court said that AAP continuing to occupy the premises is not only stultifying the expansion of the High Court but also increasing the costs for the project.
Hearing a matter related to judicial infrastructure on February 13, the SC, while expressing displeasure over the functioning of a political party office on land allotted to the HC, had directed that “on the next date of listing, a specific timeline shall be furnished to this Court for the removal of the encroachment”.
Though the name of the political party was not taken in the hearing, it later became clear that the reference was to the AAP office in Rouse Avenue.
Subsequently, the AAP, in an intervention application filed before the court, denied that its office was an encroachment and told the SC that it was officially allotted to the party by the Government of National Capital Territory in 2015.
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