Teen Murti Bhavan issue: JNMF asked to appear before quasi-judicial body

The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) has been asked to appear before a quasi-judicial body of the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry within seven days in connection with the alleged illegal possession of the Teen Murti Bhavan premises.

The ministry's direction comes days after it issued a notice to the JNMF, chaired by senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, to vacate the property.

"A notice has been issued to the JNMF, asking it to appear before the quasi-judicial authority and present its stand on the matter.

"Also, the Directorate of Estates will be heard. After hearing both the sides, the quasi-judicial authority will issue an order," a senior official, who did not wish to be named, said.

A row had erupted after the ministry issued an eviction notice to the Fund last month.

A source said the ministry was not satisfied with the JNMF's response to the eviction notice.

In its notice, the ministry had said the JNMF was being asked to vacate its premises at Teen Murti Bhavan to preserve the legacy of "other former prime minister's of India".

Established in 1964, the Fund is located at Teen Murti, once the residence of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, since 1967. Its offices are not part of the main building but occupy a set of barracks on its eastern side with a separate entry from Teen Murti Marg.

The government is planning a museum for all the former prime ministers of the country on the 25-acre Teen Murti Bhavan complex housing the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial and needed space to expand, the notice sent to JNMF had said.

The Fund also said that it was "fully entitled to using this property as it has functioned in the public interest over the past half century or more in fulfilment of both its own objects and those of the (Nehru Memorial Museum and Library)".

The Housing Ministry has said that the Fund was liable to pay damages for "illegal occupation of the premises with effect from August 28, 1967".