Gujarat HC dismisses PIL against Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram in the city.

The PIL, filed by Devraj Patel in 2023, had sought directions to ensure that the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT) solely undertakes the preservation of buildings dating back to Mahatma Gandhi’s era. It also requested a ban on any trust other than the Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust, founded by Gandhi himself, from collecting donations within the Ashram premises.

However, Government Pleader G.H. Virk informed the bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi that the matter had already been addressed in an earlier PIL filed in 2021, where it was recorded that the Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust had, in principle, supported the redevelopment project. After considering the arguments, the High Court rejected the fresh petition. DeshGujarat