U'khand HC rejects Asaram's appeal for reallocation of land for Rishikesh ashram

The Uttarkhand High Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by jailed "godman" Asaram seeking reallocation of a piece of land in Rishikesh for his ashram, paving the way for the forest department to take over it.

The plea seeking reallocation of the land in Muni-ki-Reti area of Rishikesh was rejected by a division bench of the high court comprising of Chief Justice Ramesh Rangnathan and Justice R C Khulbe.

The forest department had issued a notice to Asaram in 2013, asking him to vacate the land in Muni-ki-Reti, where his ashram stands. The department said the 20-year lease for the land had expired in 1970 and had not been renewed ever since.

This eviction order was stayed by the high court. It was later vacated by Justice Manoj Tiwari vide an order dated December 21, 2018.

The complainant, Stephen Dubey, also pleaded before the court that as per the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the lease for the land could not be renewed as the ashram was performing a non-forest activity in a forest area, his counsel Kartikeya Hari Gupta said.