Remove statues from roads, HC tells MP govt

The petition — filed in 2019 by Jabalpur-based advocate Greesham Jain — had argued that the 10-foot statue of Singh had come up in place of a statue of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad — which had been removed for hindering the flow of traffic.

The court directed the Bhopal Municipal Corporation to remove Singh’s statue from the Nanke petrol pump tri-section.

The order stated: “The state is directed by a writ of mandamus to remove all statues erected on public roads, pavements, sideways and any other public utility place at any village, town or city situated within MP, which had been erected on or after 18.01.2013 (the date of restraint order passed by the Apex Court in SLP (C) 8519/2006 (Union of India Vs State of Gujarat and others).”

It added: “Henceforth the respondents are restrained by way of a writ prohibition from installing any statue on public roads, pavements, sideways and any other public utility place situated in any village town or city within the state of MP.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Grisham Jain welcomed the court’s verdict and said: “My only contention is that while the statue of Chandra Shekar Azad was removed as it was obstructing traffic, how is that former Chief Minister Arjun Singh’s statue is not obstructing the traffic.”

The cost of Rs 30,000 is to be paid in equal proportion by four respondents including the state of Madhya Pradesh through the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary of Urban Administration and Development, the collector of Bhopal, and the Bhopal Superintendent of Police.

The court ordered that one-third of that amount would be transferred into the account of the petitioner while the remaining money would be deposited with the HC’s Legal Aid Committee for “wasting precious time of this court in dealing with an avoidable piece of litigation”.

Interestingly, Surabh Sood, sub-engineer of Bhopal Municipal Corporation in his response to the petition on January 20, 2020 when the Kamal Nath-led Congress government was in power had stated that “Earlier a statue of Chandra Shekar Azad was installed at the spot in question, the same was removed to enable widening of the tri-junction. Thereafter, the statue of Late Arjun Singh has been installed which does not obstruct free-flow of the traffic.”

Sood in his reply had also called the petition being filed with a hidden agenda of gaining cheap publicity. The Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) had then opined that the installation of the statue does not obstruct free-flow of traffic.

However is another reply letter filed before the court by Bhopal Superintendent of Police (South) on July 15, 2021 after Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government returned to power the state government informed the court, “Due to increase in the flow of the traffic at the said tri-section, erection of statue would cause obstruction to free-flow of traffic.”

While noting the contradictions in the reply of the state agencies, the court observed, “From the aforesaid conflicting responses made by respondents at different points of time for reasons best known to them, it is obvious that the functionaries of the State are not acting in accordance with law, but are acting to serve an ulterior motive.” The court further pointed out, “The present case is a burning example of shifting stands taken by respondents and also the Municipal Corporation.”