Delhi High Court Refuses To Entertain Plea Seeking Direction To Centre To Erect Memorial For INA Martyrs At Red Fort

While dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) by Mahan Swatantrata Senani Lalti Ram Trust, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that building a memorial was the discretion of the government authorities and it cannot become a "justiciable issue" before a Court.

"Whatever makes you feel good does not become the subject matter of a writ petition. Erecting or not erecting a memorial is the discretion of the government, not courts. It cannot be a debatable issue before a court of law," the bench told the petitioner's lawyer.

The counsel for the petitioner contended that no action had been taken despite five years having passed since the government announced plans to build a memorial for the thousands of martyrs of the INA at Red Fort.

Such delay, he said, violated the right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.

"Erection of a memorial is not linked to any fundamental duty or right. How can we pass such a direction? How can we direct the government to allocate land in Red Fort?" responded the Court.

The bench questioned how the petitioner sought a direction to the central government to implement its "proposal" on erecting a memorial for INA martyrs, as it asserted that a release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on the government's proposal does not in itself become the basis for seeking any right.

The Court closed the proceedings on the PIL with liberty to the petitioner to make an exhaustive representation to the Centre.

In case such a representation is made, a decision shall be taken by the authorities, it added.

The petition said that in August 2021, the central government, in a written reply in Parliament, announced proposals in connection with the commemoration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 125th Birth Anniversary Celebrations, which included establishing a memorial in Red Fort for INA martyrs.

"The Government of India has commemorated Netaji and the INA at the Red Fort, established a museum dedicated to Netaji and has expressly stated before Parliament that a proposal for establishing a memorial to INA martyrs at the Red Fort had been approved. In these circumstances, the constitutional value of dignity, remembrance and preservation of national memory lends urgency to a reasoned and time-bound consideration of the pending memorial proposal," the plea stated.

"The relief sought is thus confined to the commemoration of the INA martyrs at the Red Fort, a site intrinsically associated with the INA Trials and the history of India's freedom struggle," it added.