New Delhi, 30 September (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has declined to direct the construction of a memorial at the Red Fort in honour of the martyrs of the Indian National Army (INA), observing that the establishment of such a memorial is entirely a matter of government policy and does not warrant judicial intervention.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya was hearing a petition filed by the Mahan Swatantrata Senani Lalti Ram Trust, which sought a writ of mandamus directing the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Defence and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take expeditious steps towards establishing the proposed memorial.

The trust argued that the Central Government had acknowledged the proposal for the memorial in a written reply submitted in the Lok Sabha on August 2, 2021, but that no action had subsequently been taken to implement it.

During the hearing, the court observed that it could not direct the government to implement a policy proposal or order the allocation of land for construction of a memorial. In an oral observation, the Chief Justice said, “Everyone respects the martyrs in whose honour you want to build the memorial, but can this be the subject matter of a writ petition?”

The court further clarified that announcements made through Press Information Bureau (PIB) press releases cannot, by themselves, form the basis of a legally enforceable right.

While disposing of the petition, the court granted the petitioner liberty to submit a detailed representation to the concerned ministries. It directed that if such a representation is made, the government shall consider and decide it in accordance with law.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar