The authorities of Visva-Bharati University on Friday pasted a notice on the premises of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in Santiniketan. The three-page notice signed by the university authorities was pasted on ‘Pratichi’, the house of Prof. Sen despite an order by the Executive Magistrate in Birbhum directing officers of the Santiniketan police station to maintain peace and tranquillity in the area and the plot until the disposal of the court case.
Gitikantha Majumdar, who is taking care of Prof. Sen’s property since the academician is abroad, had approached the court on Wednesday expressing apprehension that the university may start legal proceedings in the absence of the Nobel laureate. The notice signed by A. K. Mahato, Joint Registrar, Visva-Bharati, states the proceedings (relating to the dispute) will be disposed of through a final order on 19.04.2023 at 12 noon at the Central Administrative Building, Visva-Bharati. The notice, referring to Prof. Sen as an “alleged unauthorised occupant”, states that he does not want to face the inquiry and wants to subvert or bypass the proceedings by approaching another forum.
‘Uncivilised act’
The Visva Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) described the pasting of notice as an “uncivilised act.“ “The VBUFA unequivocally condemns the uncivilised act of Visva-Bharati authority of pasting eviction notice issued by its kangaroo court on boundary wall of Pratichi, particularly with the fact that the entire land of 1.38 acres has been mutated in the name of Amartya Sen and Visva-Bharati failed to show original / authenticated copy of the lease deed to an RTI applicant,” Sudipta Bhattacharyya, president, VBUFA, said in a statement.
The controversy over Prof. Sen’s parental residence in Santiniketan started in January when the university sent three letters to him asking him to hand over the 13 decimals (0.13 acres) that it claimed he was occupying illegally in addition to 125 decimals (1.25 acres) leased to his family. Prof. Sen had denied any unauthorised occupation of land and alleged that the university authorities were targeting him to please their bosses in Delhi.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in January visited Pratichi in Santiniketan and handed over land-related documents to Prof. Sen that made it clear that the plot leased to his father Ashutosh Sen measured 1.38 acres and not 1.25 acres.
Published - April 14, 2023 06:58 pm IST
