In a courtroom moment that put finality above nostalgia, the Delhi High Court has drawn a firm line under the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) attempt to claw back a coveted 2.05-acre patch of land in Vasant Vihar—now home to the offices of the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), and Mizo Peace Foundation.
What began in 1985 as a land allotment to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) eventually shifted into AAI’s hands, supposedly for housing its own staff. But after nearly two decades of inertia—zero construction and a lot of bureaucratic thumb-twiddling—the government pulled the plug in 2002. That same land was then handed out to political outfits for their offices, and they’ve since put down roots.
The AAI, years later, sought a rewind. But the bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta wasn’t having it.
“This Court is of the opinion that much water has flown since the cancellation… The clock cannot be put back,” the judges declared, essentially telling AAI to let bygones be bygones.
The land, now split with one acre to the Samajwadi Party and half an acre each to JD(U) and Mizo Peace Foundation, is to remain with the current occupants. The Court made it clear: those allotments are locked in and not up for renegotiation.
However, it wasn’t a total loss for AAI. The Court acknowledged their plea for an alternate location was valid and overdue. The Centre’s inability to act on the proposal, it said, needed correction. A high-level meeting involving the Ministry of Urban Development, Civil Aviation, and AAI has been ordered before April 15, 2025, to find a new solution—either another land parcel or existing flats built by NBCC, with AAI paying only for construction and maintenance.
In a dispute that has lingered for decades, the Court signaled a way forward for the AAI—just not the one it had hoped for.