Panel to hear AAP leaders on Delhi Assembly’s gallows controversy

The alleged gallows were revamped by the AAP government into a two-floor memorial in 2022. But on August 8, the Assembly formally renamed the site “Tiffin Ghar,” with a new sign at the entrance

The Delhi Assembly has sought written comments from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on the inauguration of the so-called “Phansi Ghar” at the Assembly premises in 2022. They have been given 10 days to respond, according to people aware of the matter.

The “Phansi Ghar,” which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insists was only a colonial-era lift shaft used to deliver food, was at the centre of a stormy debate in the monsoon session. (HiT Archive)

The “Phansi Ghar,” which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insists was only a colonial-era lift shaft used to deliver food, was at the centre of a stormy debate in the monsoon session.

According to a letter dated September 9, Kejriwal attended the 2022 inauguration as chief guest, while Sisodia and then deputy speaker Rakhi Birla were guests of honour. The event was presided over by then Speaker Ram Niwas Goel. The letter, sent by the deputy secretary (legislation) of the Assembly, has also been addressed to Goel and Birla.

“The issue regarding the existence of a Phansi Ghar in the Delhi Assembly premises was discussed by the House in its sittings held on August 5, 6 and 7, 2025. On August 7, the matter was referred to the Committee of Privileges for examination and report and it was directed to seek the comments of the above-mentioned dignitaries regarding the authenticity of the Faansi Ghar,” the letter stated, asking for responses by September 19.

After a three-day discussion, Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta said authenticated documents from the National Archives of India -- including a 1912 map – along with research by the Indian Council of Historical Research, IGNCA, Delhi University and JNU historians, the MCD Heritage Cell, Delhi Archives and others had conclusively shown that no gallows ever existed in the Assembly. The shaft, Gupta said, was a tiffin room, and AAP leaders had “distorted history” by presenting it as an execution site.

The alleged gallows were revamped by the AAP government into a two-floor memorial in 2022. The site featured murals of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, a symbolic rope, red-brick-style walls, glass partitions, and a plaque crediting Kejriwal and Goel. A memorial board claimed “innumerable unknown freedom fighters have been hanged here.”

During the monsoon session, Gupta referred the matter to the Privileges Committee for investigation, saying Kejriwal, Sisodia, Goel and Birla would be summoned as they presided over the inauguration. On August 8, the Assembly formally renamed the site “Tiffin Ghar,” with a new sign at the entrance.