Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected a private party’s claims of tenancy and inheritance over nearly 6,000 square metres of land within the Sabarmati Ashram premises.

Ruling in favour of the Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Trust (MGSAMT), Justice Sanjeev Thaker upheld earlier rulings by the Small Causes Court and an appellate court, both of which had denied the family’s request for an injunction.

The petitioner, Mohanbhai Jerambhai Rathod, claimed the land was gifted to his ancestors by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1930s–40s and that decades of rent payments since 1977 supported their continued possession. However, the trust maintained that the evidence did not prove tenancy over the disputed plots.

The Court also found that the petitioners failed to prove any tenancy or legal right over two of the land parcels and rejected the petition. The disputed properties were part of the historic “Vankar Makan,” linked to Gandhi’s work with weavers, and also known as Jamnalal Bajaj’s House, named after one of Gandhi’s close associates.

The case comes amid a ₹1,200 crore redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram led by MGSAMT. DeshGujarat