Supreme Court rejects Mahatma Gandhi great-grandson plea against Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the plea moved by Mahatma Gandhi's great grandson Tushar Gandhi against the Gujarat High Court’s 2022 judgment upholding the State government’s Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project. .The bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal refused to entertain the plea. .Gandhi had argued that the ₹1,200 crore project will erase the Ashram’s simplicity and turn it into a State-controlled monument far removed from Gandhian values.He had argued that the project was a betrayal of Gandhian legacy and the State’s vision seeks to “alter the topography” of the original Ashram and reshape it into a modernised campus with museums, amphitheatres and food courts..It was also submitted that the current plan will displace resident Harijan families and bypass Gandhian trusts that have historically overseen the precinct..The petition highlighted Gandhi’s own words from a 1933 letter addressed to Ghanshyamdas Birla, in which he had made his intentions clear of transferring the Ashram land to the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Gandhi had written:"I consulted friends and co-workers and came to the conclusion that the best use to make of the Ashram was to dedicate it once for all for the service of the Harijans. I placed my proposal before the trustees of the Ashram who are out, as also fellow members. They have, I am happy to say, whole-heartedly approved of it....The question that the trustees and I had to consider was, to whom was the property to be transferred for the specific use I have mentioned; and we came unanimously to the conclusion that it should be transferred to the all-India Harijan organization for all-India use.".In September 2022, the Gujarat High Court had rejected Tushar Gandhi's petition challenging the redevelopment. The High Court had said that the government’s assurances were sufficient and that the project did not compromise the legacy of the site.It had noted that the State had not encroached upon or dismantled any core Gandhian institutions and was not planning any commercial activity within the Ashram grounds.