Supreme Court asks AAP to vacate headquarters in land encroachment case

The saving grace for the AAP is that it has time till June 15 to vacate the property.

Underscoring that it is a case of encroachment, the Supreme Court gave the party a long deadline given the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The party was allowed to apply to the Centre's Land and Development Office for alternate land.

"We would request the L&DO to process the application and communicate its decision within a period of four weeks," the bench said comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

The AAP, according to the bench, has no lawful right to continue on the land.

In February, the court observed that AAP was encroaching on the land which was allotted to the Delhi High Court for an expansion project meant to build additional court rooms for the Rouse Avenue court.

The top court took note of the matter while dealing with a case related to judicial infrastructure across the country.

Following a court order, a meeting was held on Feb 15, during which the Delhi government had assured that the plot would be vacated in two months, provided an alternative plot was given. But the matter did not move forward.

The delay angered the judges on Monday who questioned the lapse.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said no one can take the law into their own hands.

"How can any political party sit on it? All encroachments will be removed... The High Court should be given possession of the land, which can be used for the public and citizens," said Justice Chandrachud.