AAP denies encroaching Rouse Avenue court land; tells Supreme Court it was lawfully allotted to them

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that its party office located at the Rouse Avenue court area is not an encroachment since it was lawfully allotted to AAP long before it was earmarked for the extension of the Rouse Avenue court complex (Malik Mazhar Sultan vs Union of India).In an application filed before the apex court, AAP denied the observation made in the top court's February 13 order which said that AAP office located at Rouse Avenue in Delhi was built over "encroached land" that was originally allotted to the Delhi High Court."Far from being an instance of ‘encroachment’, the Subject Premises were officially allotted to the Applicant by the Government of NCT of Delhi (‘GNCTD’) on 31.12.2015 for its State Unit Office. This was strictly in accordance with the Applicant’s entitlement as (at that time) a State Party under the Office Memorandum dated 14.10.2015," the application by AAP said.Further, it was highlighted that a notice of cancellation of the said allotment was set aside by the Delhi High Court by an order dated August 23, 2017.The Supreme Court had made adverse observations against AAP on February 13 after it was informed by Amicus Curiae K Parameshwar that even though Delhi High Court officials went to take possession of certain land allotted to them, "a political party office was built there" and they could not take the land back.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CIJ) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had taken note of the issue while dealing with a case concerning judicial infrastructure across the country..AAP in its application filed on Thursday sought intervention in the matter and said that it should be heard before the Court passes directions in the matter.The application clarified that the allotment of office space for official party work is an essential element of public funding of elections in India and is designed to level the electoral playing field..In this regard, the party cited Policy Guidelines for Allotment of Land to Political Parties of 2012 issued by the Land & Development Office (L&DO), Government of India, claiming that that AAP is entitled to two office spaces in Delhi - one for its national unit and another for its Delhi State unit. "As of now, the applicant has been allotted office space (i.e. the Subject Premises) only for its Delhi State Unit.... there is no question of the applicant ‘encroaching’ on a space that was duly allotted to it in 2015 and that has been in its possession since then. The subject premises had been in the applicant’s occupation long before it was earmarked for extending the Rouse Avenue Court Complex," the application by AAP stated..However, the party conceded that it is aware of the necessity of judicial infrastructure for the welfare of Delhi’s citizens and has no cavils about relocating its State unit office to an appropriate, alternative space.But the party insisted that there has been no explanation forthcoming on why due diligence was not exercised by the L&DO by examining the pre-existing status of the land and its vacancy. The party said that even though it made requests for an alternative space in 2017, the request was not heeded to. The plea said that AAP is ready to vacate the present premises at Rouse avenue if it is allotted at least one out of two spaces it is entitled to in the New Delhi Municipal area.AAP's application was filed through advocates Prateek K Chadha and Hrishika Jain.