‘It’s helping 24,000+ students’: Court rejects PIL against trust built on Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision

Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry dismissed a PIL on May 26.

Land allotment

• The petitioner-association claimed that the Nehru Sidhant Kendra, earlier, was a registered society and later became a trust through a trust deed on November 14, 1983.
• The trust was allotted prime land for the purpose of utilising the space for propagating the ideals and teachings of the late Jawaharlal Nehru and running an educational institution.
• However, it was alleged that the trust was not using it for charity, and the entire property was being used as a commercial property in violation of the terms and conditions of allotment.
• It was also alleged that although illegal constructions/shops have been raised in the premises, no action has been taken against him on account of political patronage. 

‘Construction on land, legal and approved’

Opposing the PIL, authorities and respondents argued that the land allotted to the Nehru Sidhant Kendra was lawful and approved by the competent authority.

 It was stated that all the constructions were in accordance with the rules and regulations and any deviation or unauthorised construction which had not been there in the original site-plan had been compounded by the authorities through an order dated  April 2, 2024. 

The counsel on behalf of the respondents stated that on January 14, 1985, the Feroze Gandhi Market Scheme, Ludhiana, was transferred under Section 55 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922 to the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. 

It was contended that the Nehru Sidhant Kendra had submitted a site plan in 1987 for the construction of an auditorium, canteen, Bank, and shops, and the same was sanctioned by the Improvement Trust; later, some more shops were constructed, and for the same, approval was obtained in 1990.

Revised plan

• Another revised plan was approved by the Municipal Corporation in 1993, and deviations in construction were regularised in March 2024, after the payment of over Rs 2.34 lakh as compounding fee.
• The Municipal Corporation stated that it had not received any complaint or notice from the Improvement Trust regarding any violation at the end of the Nehru Sidhant Kendra, and therefore no action was required.
• Additionally, the Nehru Sidhant Kendra denied all the allegations, claiming that all the constructions were legally approved and sanctioned by the competent authorities.
• It was contended that the constructions were done in order to generate income for meeting financial needs, and all income and expenditure records were duly audited and taxed.

‘Scholarship to students’

• Nehru Sidhant Kendra submitted that it gives various scholarships, awards and also organises cultural activities, debates, declamations etc. as part of charitable activities, besides giving scholarships to the socially and economically challenged students. 
• Over 24,000 students have already benefited from such scholarships, amounting to more than Rs 8.5 crore since the inception of the trust, and around 1500 students have benefited from the scholarships each year.
• The Nehru Sidhant Kendra submitted that even the memorandum of understanding has been signed between them and the Department of Rehabilitation & Welfare Section, Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) for providing scholarships towards the education of 100 children of soldiers who die in harness.
• The bench was informed that it was also running a free school to provide free quality education to students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds besides running vocational centres. 
• It emphasised that the Nehru Sidhant Kendra had actively engaged in propagating laudable objects and public welfare in accordance with the ideals and teachings of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, for the purpose it was set up. 

‘PIL dismissed’ 

The Punjab and Haryana High Court noted that the construction on allotted land was as per the site plan duly approved, and whatever deviation or access construction was there, the same had been compounded in accordance with law from time to time, the latest being dated April 4, 2024.

The court observed that the Nehru Sidhant Kendra carried out numerous social and charitable activities in providing scholarships, free education, and vocational courses to the socially and economically weaker sections, children of war veterans who died in harness.

 Additionally, it carries out various declamations, debates, etc., from time to time to propagate the ideals and teachings of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Punjab and Haryana High Court noted.

Noting that there was no record of any illegality or adverse activity being carried out in the allotted land, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that petitioners failed to establish any locus standi to raise such a dispute, that too in the shape of public interest litigation and dismissed the PIL.