Delhi High Court on Thursday said that allotment of residential accommodation cannot be left to the whims of authorities while hearing Aam Aadmi Party’s plea seeking a government bungalow for its national convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.Justice Sachin Datta asked the Union housing ministry and directorate of estates to explain the procedure for allotments. The court said there must be a transparent policy and not decisions based on discretion. It directed the centre to file an affidavit explaining the existing policy, past allotments, and how the rules were applied. “There has to be a transparent mechanism and it cannot be purely on your whims. As long as there is a clear discernible policy… I want to know the manner of assessing priority. I am concerned with the larger issue as to how the discretion is applied in allotment of bungalows.”During the hearing, the centre informed the court that the bungalow at 35, Lodhi Estate, which AAP had proposed for Kejriwal, had already been allotted to Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary on 24 July. The house was earlier vacated by BSP chief Mayawati in May.AAP argued that under government guidelines, the president of a recognised national party is entitled to one residence in Delhi if they do not own or occupy another official house. “All pre-conditions are met. We are requesting a centrally located residence,” senior advocate Rahul Mehra told the court. Mehra on Wednesday had said that though the government counsel kept taking time to seek instructions on the party’s proposal to allot the bungalow at 35 Lodhi Estate to the party’s national convener, it was allotted to someone else. ASG Chetan Sharma, representing the government, had argued that a party could not demand a particular bungalow, highlighting a “long waiting list”. The former chief minister, he said, would be allotted a house “as and when it becomes possible”.The High Court had criticised the centre for delaying a decision on Kejriwal’s accommodation, saying the approach looked like a “free system for all” and could not be applied selectively.The AAP petition said Kejriwal had vacated his official residence at 6 Flagstaff Road on October 4, 2024, after stepping down as CM. Since then, he has been staying at the official residence of another party member near Mandi House, it added.
