Delhi High Court questions Congress plea for Jantar Mantar bungalow sale deed, but seeks Centre's reply

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Central and Delhi governments on a plea filed by the Indian National Congress seeking directions to execute a sale deed in its favour for the bungalow at 7, Jantar Mantar Road.

Appearing for the party, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi asked the Court to restrain the government from allotting the property to any third party.

"I am an allottee and in possession for decades. I have been asking for a conveyance deed for decades. No denial, no response...Obviously, while this [the petition] is being considered...I have had possession for 70 years...They [the government] should not allot it to anybody else," Singhvi said.

However, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav expressed reservations about the maintainability of the writ petition. He said that the plea for interim relief, which seeks to prevent creation of third party rights or coercive action, would be considered only after the petitioner satisfies the Court on maintainability.

Therefore, he issued notices in the matter and listed the case for further consideration in September.

In its plea, the Congress party has argued that it had been allotted the property by the Government of India in 1956 and had paid the full sale consideration amounting to ₹6,10,700 in 1959, along with additional premium and annual ground rent charges.

The party argued that despite the payment and official allotment records, the conveyance deed has not been executed for over six decades.

The petition stated that the property was originally classified as evacuee property and later vested in the Central government under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954. According to the Congress party, the custodian of evacuee property formally issued an allotment letter in January 1956 and directed the party to take possession.

It further submitted that execution of the deed was delayed first due to litigation initiated by tenants occupying portions of the premises and later because of the 1969 split in the Congress party. It relied on the Supreme Court’s 2014 judgment in Janata Dal Party v. Indian National Congress, which recognised the present Congress organisation as the lawful successor entitled to properties and funds of the undivided party.

The petition also referred to internal government file notings obtained through the RTI Act, which allegedly confirmed that the entire consideration had been paid and recommended execution of the conveyance deed. However, the AICC alleged that despite repeated representations since 2017, no final decision has been communicated by the authorities.

Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Prashanto Sen along with advocates Aadil Singh Boparai, Prakruthi Jain and Srishti Khanna appeared for Indian National Congress.

Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit for Union of India.