New Delhi: Delhi High Court Wednesday declined to entertain a plea seeking directions to Centre to construct a memorial for martyrs of the Indian National Army (INA) at Red Fort, observing that such decisions fall within govt’s domain and cannot be made a “justiciable issue”.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the delay violated the right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mahan Swatantrata Senani Lalti Ram Trust, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said: “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 govt, not courts. It cannot be a debatable issue before a court of law. The court was informed that despite govt’s announcement five years ago regarding the proposed memorial for thousands of INA martyrs at Red Fort, no concrete action had followed. The bench, however, questioned the basis of the relief sought. “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 govt to allocate land in Red Fort?” the court observed. The court questioned how a direction could be sought for implementation of what was essentially a proposal.