Aam Aadmi Party v. Union Of India Through Its Secretary & ANR.
$~97 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 15929/2023 AAM AADMI PARTY .....Petitioner Through:
Mr. Rahul Mehra, Senior Advocate with Mr. Prateek K. Chadha, Ms. Mani Gupta, Mr. Talha Abdul Rehman, Mr. Chaitanya Gosain, Ms. Sonali Jain and Mr. Sreekar Aechuri, Advocates.
versus UNION OF INDIA THROUGH ITS SECRETARY & ANR.
.....Respondents Through:
Mr. Kirtiman Singh, CGSC with Mr. Waize Ali Noor, Mr. Varun Rajawat, Mr. Ranjeev Khatana and Mr. Varun Pratap Singh, Advocates for Union.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA
O R D E R
% 16.07.2024 CM APPL. 39659/2024 (on behalf of the R-2 seeking extension of time for complying with the directions passed by this Hon'ble Court vide judgment dated 05.06.2024) 1.
Through the instant application, Respondent No. 2, Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, seeks extension of time by four weeks to comply with the directions passed by this Court vide order dated 5th June, 2024.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
2.
Mr. Kirtiman Singh, CGSC, states that since a new Government has been formed pursuant to the declaration of results for the General Elections 2024 on 4th June, 2024, many Members of Parliament have been appointed as Cabinet Minister(s)/ Minister(s) in the newly formed Government. As such, Respondent No. 2 has been heavily occupied in the process of allocating allotments/ vacating allotments/ regularizing accommodation from the General Pool to the various members of the parliament, especially since many Cabinet Minister(s)/ Minister(s) have been changed and new State Ministers have also been appointed. Mr. Singh submits that this allocation/reallocation of accommodations is a monumental task undertaken by the Respondent No. 2 and it is the reason why there has been a delay in complying with this Court's directions dated 5th June 2024. In light of the above, Respondent No. 2 seeks an extension of 4 weeks in order to comply with the said directions issued by this Court. 3.
Mr. Rahul Mehra, Senior Counsel for the Petitioner, strongly opposes the request for extension. He submits that the time period to comply with the Court's directions expires tomorrow, i.e., 17th July, 2024 and if Respondent No. 2 was facing difficulty in complying with the directions of the Court, they could have approached the Court earlier. Therefore, the Respondent No. 2 should not be granted any extension of time. Mr. Mehra further points out that while the Supreme Court were considering a similar case being Civil Appeal No(s). 1867/2006 titled Malik Mazhar Sultan & Anr. v. U.P. Public Service Commission Through its Secretary & Ors., on 10th June, 2024, Respondent No. 2 made no such submission for extension of time on account of heavy workload before the Supreme Court. Mr. Mehra submits that the instant application for extension of time cannot be sustained and if The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
the decision is not rendered in time, it would be fait accompli as the Petitioner would be without any remedy to assail the decision if the same is rendered against Petitioner.
4.
Having considered the aforenoted submissions, since substantial time has already been granted to Respondent No. 2, to comply with the Court's directions, their request for extension of time for four weeks, cannot be accepted. However, considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, the time period for complying with the Court's directions, is extended till 25th July, 2024. The Court expects that no other application seeking further extension of time shall be presented by Respondent No. 2. 5.
In the above directions, the instant application is disposed of. SANJEEV NARULA, J JULY 16, 2024 nk The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.