The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider on July 10 a plea challenging the decision of the Varanasi district magistrate to order demolition of a building of the Sarva Sewa Sangh, a society which works to propagate Gandhian values.
A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha allowed a plea for urgent hearing made by Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the appellant.
The court also permitted the counsel to intimate the district magistrate about the apex court agreeing to hear the plea on Monday and there shall be no demolition of the structure in the meantime.
The Sarva Sewa Sangh was established in 1948 by Acharya Vinoba Bhave to propagate the ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and now the building is sought to be demolished by the local administration, Bhushan said.
He sought urgent hearing and an interim order to stop the proposed demolition of the structure.
“We will list it for hearing on Monday (July 10),” the CJI said.
Earlier, the organisation had moved the Allahabad High Court challenging a notice for demolition issued by the Northern Railways to demolish structures built on a 12.90-acre plot in Varanasi district.
The organisation said the land for its premises at ‘Pargana Dehat' in Varanasi was purchased by it from the central government through “three registered sale deeds in 1960, 1961 and 1970”.
The district magistrate, who was empowered by the high court to take a decision on the dispute between the organisation and the Northern Railways, issued a notice with regard to the demolition of the structure.
The district magistrate had on June 26 said the land belonged to Railways as per revenue records.
The Sangh approached the High Court with a writ petition for quashing the order dated June 26, 2023 passed by the district magistrate, Varanasi, and the demolition notice (dated June 27, 2023) issued by the administration of the Northern Railways, Indian railways.
A division bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar disposed of the plea, saying, "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 original suit before the lower court in Varanasi.”
The plea claimed Sarva Sewa Sangh, which was set up in 1948, is the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Jay Prakash Narayan, and Vinoba Bhave. It was established by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. The present building of Sarva Sewa Sangh at Rajghat (Varanasi) was constructed under the supervision of Vinoba Bhave in order to spread the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.
However, a dispute subsequently arose between the petitioners and the Northern Railways regarding the title over the land on which the building of Sarva Sewa Sangh is located at Rajghat, Varanasi.
