The Allahabad High Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition filed by the Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh – a society that aims to propagate Gandhian values – seeking direction to quash an order by the Northern Railway for demolition of structures, including a library, made on the 12.90-acre plot built at the Pargana Dehat in Varanasi district. The Railways claim that the property belongs to it.
“Considering the facts and circumstances, we are not inclined to entertain the writ petition. However, it is always open to the petitioners to press the injunction application filed along with the aforesaid original suit before the court below,” a division bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar said in its order passed on Monday, reported The Indian Express.
“With the aforesaid observations, the writ petition stands disposed of,” the bench added.
The petitioners of the Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh said that the land was “purchased” from the Union of India by means of three registered sale deeds in 1960, 1961 and 1970. It also sought directions for quashing an order, passed on June 26, by the Varanasi District Magistrate which had declared the sale deeds “null and void”. The demolition notice was issued the next day.
The property consists of a publication house, the Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, a pre-school where children are taught without school fees, a guest house, library, meeting hall, Gandhi Arogya Kendra, a youth training centre as well as a khadi bhandar.
According to the website of the Sarva Seva Sangh, following the assassination of Gandhi in 1948, prominent leaders of the nation, including Vinoba Bhave, Kishorilal Mashruwala, Jayaprakash Narayan among others, assembled at Sevagram, Wardha in March 1948. The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajendra Prasad, who decided to form Sarvodaya Samaj and Sarva Seva Sangh to carry out constructive programmes of Gandhi.
Meanwhile, following the court order, president of Sarva Seva Sangh Chandan Pal demanded that “the land purchased by Sarva Seva Sangh encroached by the district administration” since December 2020 “for the workshop of Kashi corridor”, be “freed from encroachment immediately”. The letter was written to CPI (M) leader Prakash Karat, seeking solidarity on the issue.
Earlier, speaking to IE, DM S Rajalingam had said last week that the “records clearly show that the land belongs to Railways…the Sangh is relying on a sale deed which was supposedly executed by a Divisional Engineer on behalf of the President of India. There is no government order or authorisation letter in support of the claim.