The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has approached the Delhi High Court, requesting the Centre to provide residential accommodation in Delhi for its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal. The petition, heard by Justice Sanjeev Narula, presses for compliance with existing guidelines that entitle the president of a national political party to housing in the capital. The case is scheduled for a follow-up hearing on November 26.
Represented by senior counsel, AAP argued that Kejriwal, as the former Chief Minister and current national president of the party, qualifies for this provision. The counsel emphasized that Kejriwal’s position as the national convenor equates to being the president of a recognized national political party, meriting a centrally-located residential accommodation.
This legal move follows a series of communications with the authorities, starting with a letter dated September 20, followed by a subsequent reminder, seeking the allotment of accommodation for Kejriwal. The guidelines in question, which govern the Allotment of Accommodation from General Pool to Political Parties, allow recognized national political parties one housing unit in Delhi for office use, on payment of a licence fee.
The Delhi High Court had previously acknowledged AAP’s entitlement to such accommodations on June 5, directing the BJP-led Centre to resolve the party office space issue. Subsequently, AAP was allocated a new office at Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane in the prestigious Lutyens Delhi area.
The guidelines further stipulate that a residential accommodation should be allotted to the president of a recognized national political party if they do not own a house in Delhi or have one allotted by the government in any other capacity. This provision forms the basis of AAP’s petition, as Kejriwal vacated the official Chief Minister’s residence at 6, Flagstaff Road on October 4, following his resignation from the chief ministerial post.
Kejriwal’s resignation came with a declaration that he would only hold the chief minister’s office again if re-elected with a “certificate of honesty” from the Delhi populace in the forthcoming Assembly polls scheduled for February. His move to the official residence of a party member near Mandi House has been temporary following his release from Tihar Jail on September 13. Kejriwal had been granted bail by the Supreme Court after serving five months in connection with the excise policy case and a related money-laundering case.
