The Allahabad High Court has rejected the layout plan of Amar Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj district, made by a private land surveyor project Consulting Engineer and directed the government of Uttar Pradesh to come up with a fresh plan of the area and produce it in Court on September 1.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice J.J Munir heard the PIL filed by Jitendra Singh Vishen and another.
In compliance with the order passed by the Court on July 13, 2022, Manish Goyal, Additional Advocate General, produced in Court a layout plan made by a private Land Surveyor Project Consulting Engineer. The manner in which the plan has been prepared does not satisfy the requirements. Apparently, he was not aware of how to prepare the layout plan and show the legends.
As to why a private Surveyor was engaged by the state was not known to the counsel for the state. Even as per the plan produced in Court, there are a lot of constructions existing at different places in the Chandrashekhar Azad park, earlier known as the Alfred Park and the Company Garden, for which no explanation is available.
The place where Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad laid down his life was not even pointed out in the plan.
Tahir Husain Farooqui, Counsel assisting the Court, pointed out that regularly news items were published in various newspapers in which reference has been made to some English Gazetteer mentioning that Colonel Neill had hanged about 640 Mewatis in three hours and forty minutes. A total of 6,746 people were killed.
It was submitted that copies of the aforesaid Gazetteer were available in the Public Library Allahabad, Government Museums and the Public Library at Nainital.
The Court further directed the Counsel assisting it in the PIL, to carry out some research as to whether any PhD Degrees have been awarded on part of the freedom struggle at Allahabad.
“A fresh plan of the area be prepared by the state and be produced in Court on the next date of hearing.
“The Registrar General was directed to coordinate with the aforesaid Libraries and Museums for getting the aforesaid copies of the Gazetteer. The In-charge of the aforesaid Museums and Libraries are directed to assist in supplying the copies thereof, without any delay”, the order read.
The Court fixed September 1 as the next date of hearing in the case.