Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court appealing against the notice issued by the Visva-Bharati university asking him to vacate 13 decimal of land at his Shantinikentan residence by May 6.

Visva-Bharati, a central varsity, claims that Sen has “illegally occupied” the 13 decimal of land and said it would evict the economist if it fails to vacate it within the May 6 deadline.

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In his petition before the High Court, Sen argues that his father Ashutosh Sen, who later built ‘Pratichi’, was given 1.38 acre of land on a 99-year lease by then Visva-Bharati general secretary Rabindranath Tagore in October 1943.

The matter will be heard by a bench of Justice Bibhas Ranjan De. He had earlier moved a court in Suri challenging the varsity’s eviction notice but was forced to move HC after the court set May 15 as the date of hearing, after the varsity’s deadline of May 6.

The varsity sent the notice to Sen on April 19. The varsity claims that Sen is in occupation of 1.38 acre of land on the Santinikentan campus, 13 decimal of land above his legal entitlement of 1.25 acre.

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Mamata Banerjee asks ministers to start sit-in

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked state ministers to begin a sit-in outside Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s residence in Santiniketan in Birbhum district to protest against the Visva-Bharati’s eviction notice.

The directions were issued by Mamata at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Mamata asked MSME Minister Chandranath Sinha, the local MLA, to lead the protest, which will be joined by Education Minister Bratya Basu and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim.

“The CM advised them not to move an inch even if Visva-Bharati sends bulldozers to take possession,” an official said quoting the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, a Visva-Bharati official told PTI that here was no question of ‘demolition or bulldozing’. “What and why will we demolish? Firstly there is nothing to be demolished on the encroached part of the land. It is vacant and there are some small and big trees only,” he said.

“Pratichi — the ancestral house of Amartya Sen along with the entire land is the property of Visva-Bharati. After the end of the residual period of the lease, the entire property will return to the university’s possession. Why should we cause harm to our own property?” he added.