The Supreme Court on Monday rapped the Samajwadi Party for "fraudulently occupying" office space for a paltry Rs 115 in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit, underlining a "clear misuse of political power".

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi told senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for the political party, that it was not a case of fraudulent allotment but a case of "fraudulent occupation using muscle power and misusing power".

The top court was acting on the party's plea against Nagarpalika Parishad of Pilibhit's eviction order.

Dave argued despite paying rent for the office space, the municipal authorities were adamant to evict his client.

He said a suit seeking injunction on the eviction order had been filed.

"You are a political party. You misused official position and political power to occupy the space. When action comes, you start remembering everything. Have you ever heard of office space in a municipal area for Rs 115 rent. This is a clear case of abuse of power," the bench noted.

When Dave pressed for protection from eviction for six weeks, the bench said, "Right now, you are an unauthorised occupant. These are not fraudulent allotments but fraudulent occupations." Dave claimed the party was being singled out by the authorities.

"It will be better if you file a writ petition before the high court and bring to the court's notice any such fraudulent allotment or occupation. We will be welcoming this step," the bench said.

Refusing to examine the plea, the bench did not express any opinion on the petitioner's suit in the civil court which it said should be decided at the earliest.

The party was challenging the July 2 order of the Allahabad High Court refusing to hear the plea.

On June 16, the top court dismissed a similar plea moved by the party’s Pilibhit district president against the high court order restraining him from filing a fresh petition on the issue of eviction order for local party office.

The top court granted liberty to the party to move the high court against the decision of the civic body.

The apex court pointed out a 998-day delay in filing the appeal against the December 1, 2020 order of the high court on the plea of one Anand Singh Yadav who claimed to be the party's district president.

The party had claimed that the civic body ordered it to vacate the premises on November 12, 2020 without offering it the opportunity to be heard.

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