Delhi HC stays Eviction Notice against Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund occupation of Teen Murthi Estate

The Delhi High Court has stayed an eviction notice issued earlier this month against the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) in respect of its office situated within the Teen Murti Estate premises..Justice Anu Malhotra issued notice to the government today, and granted a stay of the eviction proceedings after the JNMF challenged the same..The JNMF has contended that the eviction proceedings were initiated illegally and with ulterior motives by the incumbent BJP government as part of a political vendetta to destroy and efface the legacy and history of the contributions by Jawarhalal Nehru. As stated in their petition,.“The legacy of Shri 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 Shri Nehru stood for. It is submitted that the impugned proceedings are a part of a larger design to efface and destroy the legacy and contributions of Nehru and create a new historical narrative. It is therefore submitted that the proceedings are actuated by malafides and deserves to be set aside on this ground alone....… these proceedings have to be viewed as a part of the larger conspiracy of the incumbent political class who have left no stone unturned and who have sought to create a diabolical political narrative that Pandit Nehru is the blame for most of the ills that face the nation at present and that most of the problems faced by India at present owe their provenance to Nehruvian Legacy.“.On October 15, a show cause notice had been issued by Estate Officer Amarnath Pujari under the Public Premises Act (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants), 1971 (‘1971 Act’) against JNMF. Pursuant to the notice, JNMF appeared before the Estate Officer on October 23..However, instead of Pujari, another officer, KC Sharma, took up their case and directed JNMF to submit documents regarding their occupation in the Teen Murti property by November 5. This, despite a request for the grant of at least eight weeks time in view of the voluminous records required to be submitted, the petition argues. The jurisdiction of both officers and the legality of these proceedings have been contested by the JNMF..Rejecting the claims made by the Estate Officer that JNMF has been occupying the Teen Murti Estate illegally, it has been argued that due permission was accorded for its occupation by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), a registered society which owns the estate..JNMF points towards two government communications issued in 1967, to assert that the Teen Murti Estate belongs to NMML alone..In this backdrop, JNMF contends that the government has no authority to initiate eviction proceedings under the 1971 Act, as none of the statutory preconditions calling for such proceedings exist i.e..(a) The premises in question are not “public premises” ;.(b) There is no unauthorised occupation in such public premises; and.(c) Therefore, there is no requirement for the eviction of the noticee..As per the petition, none of these jurisdictional requirements were assessed before the notice under the 1971 Act was issued. Therefore,.“In these circumstances it is clear that the Directorate of Estates (Respondent herein) has no jurisdiction to initiate any proceedings in relation to the property of NMML which is a registered society and the JNMF is in legal occupation of the demised premises.”.JNMF has therefore sought for the Court’s intervention in quashing the eviction proceedings initiated against them. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal is representing JNMF in the High Court. The petition has been drawn by Advocate Priyansha Indra Sharma..Read the Petition: