AKG Centre land deal clean, Kerala CPM tells SC

Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly four months after the inauguration, AKG centre, CPM’s new headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, has landed in legal trouble after a woman approached the Supreme Court claiming that the land is her ancestral property. Responding to the apex court’s notice. The left party on Wednesday filed an affidavit on the legality of its acquisition of land for the AKG centre.

In the affidavit, CPM state secretary MV Govindan stated that the 32-cent plot purchased in 2021 was lawfully acquired and that a nine-storey building, costing ₹30 crore, was subsequently constructed on the site, reported IANS.

 “There were no pending disputes or legal issues regarding the land at the time of purchase,” Govindan affirmed.

 The affidavit was submitted in response to a petition challenging the ownership of the property, in which a retired scientist claimed before the Supreme Court that she was the rightful owner of the land. Following her plea, the apex court issued a notice to the CPM’s Kerala unit.

The party, however, has maintained that the land transaction was entirely legal and that the petitioner’s claim has no legal basis.

The Case
According to the petitioner, the 34-cent property on which the AKG Centre stands was jointly purchased by her grandfather, Janardanan Pillai, in two transactions in 1998 and 2000. She alleged that the subsequent sale of the property to the CPM through a private financial institution in Kottayam was executed without disclosing the family’s prior ownership claims.

The petitioner also cited letters purportedly sent to then CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. She argued that she had drawn the party leadership's attention to the ownership dispute at the time of the purchase.

The CPM, in its affidavit, reiterated that all legal procedures were followed during the acquisition and construction process, stressing that the development of the AKG Centre was carried out transparently and in full compliance with the law.

Govindan’s affidavit seeks to clarify the party’s position before the apex court, underscoring that both the purchase and subsequent development adhered strictly to legal norms.

Incidentally, the land on which the party’s old headquarters stood has long been surrounded by controversy, with repeated allegations that a portion had been encroached upon from property owned by the University of Kerala in the state capital.

It was during the tenure of former Chief Minister AK Antony that a portion of the land housing the old CPM headquarters was sanctioned for party use. That site has since been redeveloped into a research centre, while the new AKG Centre — a sprawling modern structure — has drawn public attention and speculation over how the CPM financed such an expansive project.