INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JANUARY 1st - JANUARY 15th
- 2008
DELHI HIGH COURT RESTORES GANDHI PEACE FOUNDATION LEASE AFTER 21 YRS
After 21 years of legal battle, Gandhi Peace Foundation, a charitable institution engaged in promoting Gandhian Values, has been restored its lease.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Land and Developement Officer (L&DO) to restore the lease of Gandhi Peace Foundation which was cancelled way back in 1987 due to allegations of unauthorised construction of sheds for officials on the premises.
Justice Geeta Mittal set aside the July 14,1987 cancellation order passed by the L&DO and directed them to restore the lease to the organisation. The Bench said the orders passed by the L&DO stating the reasons for cancellation of lease are irrelevant and are not maintainable.
Counsel for the Gandhi Peace Foundation(GPF), Vijay Kishan said the organisation was conceived by Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in 1955. It is a charitable trust with trustees like former Prime Minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and Rupees one crore was sanctioned by the government then to promote Gandhian values and to make a foundation to carry on the works of Mahatma Gandhi.
Eminent personalities like Dr S Radhakrishnan, Morarjee Desai, V P Singh, Acharya Kripalani were among the members of the board of Foundation. Two flats at Rouse Avenue, Flat no.221 and 223 were allotted to it to build a memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
Eminent people like Dr Rajinder Prasad, Dr Zakir Hussain and Jai Prakash Narayan were also actively involved in the organisation.
Later, on July 14, 1987 the lease of these flats was cancelled by the L&DO stating that some unauthorised structures have come up in the premises and it was being used for purposes different than those stated at the time of allotment.
Though The Delhi High Court had granted an injunction on the cancellation order but the legal battle was on for the last 21 years.
Justice Mittal ordered the L&DO to restore the lease within four weeks and let the reputed institution serving a noble cause work smoothly.
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