The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Central government and the Delhi government on a plea by the Indian National Congress seeking execution of a sale deed in the party's favour for its former headquarters located at 7, Jantar Mantar Road.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice to the authorities but declined to pass any interim order. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the All India Congress Committee (AICC), urged the court to ensure that the premises was not allotted to any other party. However, the court stated that it would first examine whether the plea was maintainable.
Justice Kaurav remarked that the petitioner must satisfy the court on maintainability before seeking interim relief. "See what the government's response is. You perhaps have to file a civil suit. This seems to be to wriggle out of limitation," the judge observed.
Singhvi argued that the Indian National Congress was an allottee that had possessed the property for decades. "I have been asking for execution of a conveyance deed repeatedly. There is no denial. There is no response. I have been in possession for 70 years. I have all documents and payments. They should not allot it to somebody else," he told the High Court.
The Congress party contended that it has possessed part of the property since February 1946, with the allotment made in 1956. It paid Rs 6.1 lakh in 1959 towards the sale consideration. Since 2017, the party has made several representations to the Delhi government, which is responsible for managing the property, seeking execution of the sale deed, but to no avail, the plea asserted.
