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Gallows row: House panel to summon Kejriwal, Sisodia
“No gallows ever existed in this building, nor was there any tunnel leading to the Red Fort, as was falsely claimed,” said speaker Vijender Gupta.
The Delhi Assembly has referred to its Privileges Committee the contentious issue surrounding the 2022 inauguration of a so-called “phansi ghar” (execution chamber) on the premises of the legislative building, amid allegations that the historical narrative of the space was falsely portrayed. Speaker Vijender Gupta on Thursday indicated that former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, former speaker Ram Niwas Goel, and former deputy speaker Rakhi Bidlan may be summoned by the committee for their involvement in the project.
Addressing the media on Thursday after the House session,Speaker Gupta said the four Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders had overseen and attended the August 9, 2022, inauguration of the chamber, which was presented to the public as a so-called “gallows room” where freedom fighters were executed during the colonial era.
Gupta told the Assembly that evidence gathered from multiple credible sources, including the National Archives of India, Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the heritage cell of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and other independent historians, has proven that the room was originally a “tiffin room” or lift shaft, not a site of executions.
“Tampering with a heritage building, misrepresenting a historical structure as a gallows, and attempting to falsify history constitute an unforgivable crime against the truth. This House, in the strongest possible terms, condemns this grave act of distortion and deceit. In view of the seriousness of this matter, I am hereby referring the entire issue to the Privileges Committee of the House for an in-depth investigation,” he said.
“No gallows ever existed in this building, nor was there any tunnel leading to the Red Fort, as was falsely claimed,” he added.
He cited a 1912 architectural map of the Delhi Assembly complex that identifies the structure as a service area for transporting food, with no evidence to support its use as a gallows room.
The chamber at the centre of the issue was revamped in 2022 by the then AAP government into a two-storey memorial space. It featured murals of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, red-brick interiors, a symbolic hanging rope, and glass enclosures. A plaque commemorated the inauguration, crediting Kejriwal and Goel, and a memorial board inside the structure claimed that “innumerable unknown freedom fighters have been hanged here.”
Gupta ordered that the Assembly’s heritage be restored in line with its original structure, as documented in the 1912 plans. “Both rooms shall revert to their original layout, the 1912 map shall be displayed prominently, and the plaque bearing the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia will be removed,” he said.
The Assembly has held multiple heated discussions on the matter this week, with the BJP accusing the previous AAP government of manipulating history for political gain.
The AAP on Thursday said it is unfortunate that a Speaker is setting a precedent by summoning a former Speaker before the Privileges Committee. “The Speaker is meant to safeguard the House’s privileges, not undermine them. These baseless proceedings won’t withstand judicial scrutiny and will be struck down by constitutional courts,” the party said.
The Privileges Committee will examine the matter in detail.
