Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Delhi HC on Thursday sought the Centre and Delhi govt’s stand on a plea by Indian National Congress seeking execution of a sale deed in the party’s favour for its former headquarters at 7, Jantar Mantar Road.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice to authorities but refused to pass any interim order. Even as senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for AICC, urged HC to ensure the premises was not allotted to anyone else, the court said it would first examine whether the plea was maintainable.Justice Kaurav said the petitioner must satisfy maintainability before seeking interim relief. “See what govt’s response is. You perhaps have to file a civil suit. This seems to be to wriggle out of limitation,” the judge said.Singhvi argued INC was an allottee that 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 HC.Congress said it has possessed part of the property since Feb 1946, with allotment made in 1956. It paid Rs 6.1 lakh in 1959 towards sale consideration. Since 2017, it made representations to Delhi govt — responsible for managing the property — seeking execution of the sale deed, but to no avail, the plea contended.
