New Delhi: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has firmly rejected allegations that it illegally occupied or premises had been subleted to it in the Sir Sobha Singh Building at Ajmeri Gate, Delhi. The organisation maintains that it has used the premises as its office for decades, that the Sir Sobha Singh Public Charitable Trust was aware of its presence, and that rent records and correspondence submitted before the court support its position.
The dispute concerns four portions of the building. The Trust has initiated eviction proceedings alleging rent default and unauthorised subletting. BMS disputes those allegations and maintains that its occupation was neither concealed from the Trust nor the result of an unauthorised subletting arrangement. Speaking to Organiser, BMS counsel Adarsh Tiwari said the organisation is using the four premises since around the 1960s. The original tenancy arrangements, he said, was orally entered with Lala Hansraj Gupta and Jagdish Prasad Mathur, individuals associated with the Jan Sangh. BMS maintains that the premises were used for organisational activities and that the Trust knew the office was being run by BMS.
“It’s not that they did not know that it is BMS’s office. BMS’s tenancy has been going on for decades. They continued taking rent from us and also issued rent receipts,” Tiwari said. He added that receipts submitted before the court mention the names of the original tenants followed by “Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh” in brackets. BMS relies on these records to contest the claim that its presence amounted to unauthorised occupation or subletting.
It is to be noted that, the building also has a connection with the early history of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. In his writings and recollections, former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani has referred to the Jana Sangh office being located at Ajmeri Gate.
Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee worked together from those early days of the party, and BMS office-bearers say the premises were regularly used by senior leaders and workers. BMS leaders also recall that Atalji and Advaniji used to stay and work at the premises during the organisation’s early years.
Trust-issued rent records and correspondence cited by BMS
BMS’s written statement, filed before the Rent Controller, sets out its position that the premises were historically used for organisational purposes rather than as the personal offices of the individuals named in the original tenancy records. The organisation has cited the building’s association with the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and its subsequent use by BMS as part of its defence.
Among the supporting documents submitted by BMS are rent bills issued by the Sir Sobha Singh Public Charitable Trust. Several bills from the early 2000s bear the name “Hans Raj Gupta (Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh)”. BMS maintains that the appearance of its name in the Trust’s own rent records demonstrates that its use of the premises was known to the landlord.
BMS has also submitted correspondence concerning rent payments. A letter dated November 8, 2003, written on Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (Delhi Pradesh) letterhead and addressed to the Trust’s manager, refers to an intimation regarding rent for the preceding 16 months. The organisation cites this direct correspondence as further support for its position that the Trust was aware of BMS’s use of the premises and dealt with it on rent-related matters.
BMS seeks reconciliation of rent and repair expenditure
On the question of outstanding rent, Tiwari said BMS has explained to the court that the ageing premises required substantial repairs. According to him, the bathrooms, staircases, ceiling, paint and plaster had deteriorated, and the Trust asked BMS to undertake the work from its own funds and adjust the expenditure against rent. Tiwari estimated the repair expenditure at around Rs 8 lakh.
BMS Delhi General Secretary Deepender Chahar gave a similar account. He said the organisation repeatedly raised the need for repairs and subsequently undertook maintenance work on the understanding that the expenditure would be adjusted against rent. Chahar estimated the total amount spent over the years at approximately Rs 8–10 lakh, describing the figure as tentative because the work included several rounds of routine repairs.
In its April 2022 written statement, BMS had cited repair and maintenance expenditure of approximately Rs 6 lakh and maintained that this amount should be adjusted against the rent payable.
BMS has proposed reconciliation of the rent and repair accounts and says it is prepared to pay any balance found legitimately payable. Tiwari said the organisation has also proposed mediation to resolve the financial dispute while continuing to use the premises as its office.
“We have said that let us sit together and calculate how much we spent and how much rent was due. If anything remains payable from our side, we are ready to pay it,” Chahar said.
BMS has also denied the allegation that it made unauthorised structural alterations. In its written reply, the organisation rejected the claim that it covered an open balcony or veranda or made permanent additions or alterations to the premises.
Chahar said the Ajmeri Gate office has been associated with BMS since the time of its founder, Dattopant Thengadi, and that the Jan Sangh office was also located there in the past. “The office has been with us since the time of Dattopant ji. The Jan Sangh office was also here,” he said.
Tiwari said the proceedings are being heard under the Delhi Rent Control Act by the Rent Controller at Tis Hazari Court. According to the counsel, the Trust has completed its evidence and BMS’s defence evidence is underway. He said the organisation has filed affidavits and is placing further documents before the court.
Notably, Lala Hans Raj Gupta, former Mayor of Delhi, died on July 3, 1985, while Jagdish Prasad Mathur died on October 20, 2007.
According to BMS counsel Adarsh Tiwari, the Trust served its eviction notice only in 2019, decades after Gupta’s death. Tiwari questioned the allegation of unauthorised subletting, arguing that the Trust had continued to receive rent for three of the four premises after Gupta’s death and until around 2006. “If Lala Hans Raj Gupta died in 1985, who else, if not BMS, was paying rent to the Trust for all those years?” he asked. Tiwari maintained that the continued acceptance of rent supports BMS’s position that the Trust knew of the organisation’s occupation and that BMS had neither illegally occupied nor unauthorisedly sublet the premises.
BMS’s position is that it has neither illegally occupied nor unauthorisedly sublet the Ajmeri Gate premises. It maintains that the Trust knew of its longstanding organisational use, accepted rent and issued records bearing the BMS name. The organisation says the outstanding rent should be reconciled with the expenditure incurred on repairs and that it is willing to pay any legitimate balance. These are BMS’s submissions in the ongoing dispute; the court is yet to determine the contested tenancy and eviction claims.
