Guj HC extends stay on demolition of Nazarbaug Palace

The Gujarat High Court today extended till June 12 the stay on demolition of Vadodara's iconic snow-white 'Nazarbaug' Palace which is in possession of the family members of royal Sangramsinh Gaekwad.
Acting upon a PIL filed by Sanjay Joshi, office-bearer of two Vadodara-based NGOs including Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), Justice G R Udhvani extended the stay till June 12.
The PIL, which demanded to preserve the iconic art structure, had submitted that the palace cannot be razed when the process of getting heritage status is pending.
Advocate Dipen Desai representing the petitioner had earlier submitted before the high court that "Nazarbaug palace is a heritage building as it belongs to the era of the Gaekwad rulers and has stood as a landmark in the city".

The PIL was filed following reported plans of Sangramsinh's family members to construct a commercial cum residential complex on 1.75 lakh square feet by razing the palace which was built in 1850 during the princely states of Gaekwads.
The Gaekwad family had stated that the palace was in a dilapidated condition and would not be able to withstand upcoming monsoon season.

Meanwhile, the petitioner also filed a contempt of court petition today seeking action against the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) officers for not following the order of the high court to maintain a 'status- quo' on demolition of the palace.

The high court on May 30 had sent notices to the Chief Secretary of the state government, the VMC, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Sangramsinh Gaekwad's son Pratapsinh in this regard.
The court had also directed Sangramsinh's family members to maintain a status quo until June 3.