The Centre on Friday requested the Delhi High Court for an urgent hearing of the matter related to the eviction notice given to the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF), chaired by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, to vacate the Teen Murti Estate complex. 

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma vehemently opposed the request for adjournment made by the JNMF counsel who assailed the eviction notice issued in 2018 and said it was a clear abuse of authority.

 ASG Sharma said a museum is proposed to be built at the site is a “project of national importance”, and the petitioner cannot be permitted to occupy the land which belonged to the Centre.  The complex now houses ‘Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya’, a museum built as a tribute to all Prime Ministers since Independence.  Considering the submissions, Justice Mini Pushkarna listed the case for hearing on January 24.              

 The court was informed that the matter was earlier heard at length by another bench and has to be now considered afresh.  The ASG contended the petition was not maintainable before the High Court and since the proceedings against the petitioner were initiated under the Public Premises Act, all grievances should be raised before the authority concerned under the law.  “A show cause was issued in 2018. This is Public Premises Act. How can you come to the High Court? This is an important national project,” Sharma said.

 The JNMF had approached the High Court in 2018 seeking setting set aside of the estate officer’s October 15, 2018 eviction notice.  The Fund has been located at Teen Murti Bhavan, once the residence of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru since 1967. The JNMF was set up in 1964.  Its offices are not part of the main building but the Fund occupies a set of barracks on its eastern side with a separate entry from Teen Murti Marg.   The JNMF has denied the claim that it was in illegal possession of the property.

 Its petition, filed through advocates Sunil Fernandes and Priyansha Indra Sharma, has said the estate officer’s notice was malafide and been issued with ulterior political

motives. 

The plea has said the JNMF is a charitable trust and the Directorate of Estates has no jurisdiction to initiate any proceedings in relation to the property of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) which is a registered society and the JNMF is in legal occupation of the premises.

The JNMF has contended that the eviction notice was arbitrary and without jurisdiction and has been issued without application of mind.  The petition has said the proceedings initiated by the estate officer are part of a larger design to efface and destroy the legacy and contributions of Nehru and create a new historical narrative.

 “The legacy of Nehru is a historical fact which is now sought to be effaced by the central government led by the BJP which is totally opposed to the secular and inclusive principles which Nehru stood for,” the plea has alleged.

 In response, an affidavit filed by the deputy director of estates at Directorate of Estates has claimed the JNMF has failed to produce any authority which allows it to use the demised premises and the Central Government is the sole owner of the premises and the Teen Murti Estate in its entirety.

The affidavit has said in the absence of any material placed by the Fund to show that it is either JNMF which is the owner or someone else other than the Central government, it should not be permitted to argue that the government does not own the property.   The High Court had on November 1, 2018 passed an order staying the proceedings before the Directorate of Estates.