SARV SEWA SANGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner participated in a tender issued by respondent No.2- Rajghat Samadhi Committee (hereafter 'Committee'), a statutory body created by an Act of Parliament, namely, Rajghat Samadhi Act, 1951. By inclusion of Clause 10 in of the General Instructions and Guidelines of the tender, Gandhi Hindustani Sahitya Sabha (hereafter the 'Sahitya Sabha'); the third respondent, was given an opportunity to match the highest bid.

(2.) Rajghat Samadhi Act, 1951 was enacted for the administration and control of the Samadhi of father of the Nation (Mahatma Gandhi ji) and for upkeep and maintenance of the 'Samadhi' which is of monumental importance and is a part of the welfare activities of the State as enshrined in Article 49 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) Respondent No.2 is a centrally controlled institution. Respondent No.3 is an organization that is occupying the bookstall space situated in the parking area of Respondent No.2 for the last several years i.e. since 22.04.1976 on license basis to conduct sale of books, publication etc. relating to Gandhi ji, Father of the Nation at annual licence fee of Rs. 1/-. Thereafter in 2005, the lease was changed to a Licence Agreement. However, the Sahitya Sabha continued with that licence in an uninterrupted manner. For the first time in 2015, the Committee issued an advertisement, calling for bids from interested parties with the intention of licensing the premises. The essential conditions were that the intending licensee should have published and sold books/magazines/newsletters and other literature including diaries on Gandhi ji or related to Gandhi ji for the past five years.