Rupa
Birbhum district and sessions court in Suri has stayed an order on the eviction notice that Visva Bharati issued to Amartya Sen for the disputed 13 decimal plot within the Nobel Laureate’s ancestral home in Santinektan, famously known as Pratichi, offering temporary relief to the economist.
According to the district court’s direction, the stay will remain valid till the Calcutta High Court settles the primary case to decide the ownership of the disputed land
That the order would be against Visva Bharati’s notice of eviction became clear on the death anniversary of Rabrindranath Tagore on August 8.
The order was passed by Birbhum District Judge Sudeshna Dey Chattopadhyay, after eight rounds of hearings on Sen’s petition against the notice. The Nobel Laureate moved to the court to challenge the notice put up on Pratichi’s boundary walls in April this year. The notice gave him an ultimatum for appearance before the Visva Bharati authorities for disposal of proceedings on the disputed land and called him “alleged unauthorized occupant”.
The district court also directed the varsity authorities to submit all documents based on which they had served the notice to the octogenarian economist. The last date for document submission is September 16.
Challenging the ‘staying’ order of the district court, Visva Bharati is reportedly considering a move to High Court.
What Sen’s Counsels Argued?
According to reports, Sen’s counsels based their arguments against the eviction notice on two grounds. First, Joint Registrar of Visva Bharati and Estate Officer AK Mahato, who had his signature on the notice, faced salvo of questions from Sen’s counsel Soumendra Roy Chowdhury who argued if Mahato had been appointed through a gazette notifications, only which can grant him the required authority to sign this notice.
Secondly, the petitioner also pointed out the “inability of Visva-Bharati authorities to pinpoint the exact location of the disputed plot” within Pratichi, which the university wanted to reclaim from Amartya Sen.
“I have come to the understanding that the alleged unauthorized occupant does not want to face this inquiry; rather he wants to subvert or bypass this proceeding by other means including initiating proceedings at other forum,” the April notice signed by Mahato had stated while adding, “Based on the facts aforesaid, I decide that no further opportunity of showing cause or attending personal hearing shall be allowed to the alleged unauthorized occupant.”
Visva Bharati chose to harp on Sen’s avoiding several summonses for his in-person appearances before the varsity authorities, which, they claimed, had left them with no other option but to issue the notice.
What Sen’s Aide at Prtichi Says?
Sen’s aide and caretaker of Pratichi, Gitikantha Majumdar, has claimed that the university failed to provide any concrete evidence before the court that Sen illegally occupied 13 decimals of land. According to him, the varsity came up with the claim after a joint survey by Sen’s family and Visva Bharati on the controversial plot back in 2006. Even they produced an incomplete document before the court and the court was, reasonably, not satisfied. “For argument’s sake, the university’s claims were true, why was it serving an eviction notice so many years later” he adds.
Mr. Majumder thinks that the varsity is clearly driven by the political agenda and boot-licking their Delhi boss. However, Visva Bharati authorities have denied making any comments regarding the recent development in the case.
