RAM SARUP Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether the construction of a building within the controlled area around Braham Sarovar declared under sub-section 1(b) of section 4 of the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963 (for short 'the Act') without complying with the provisions of section 6 of the Act renders the default liable to prosecution under section 12 of the Act.

(2.) A factual back-drop will help to delineate the contours of the controversy -

(3.) Mr. N.C. Jain, Senior Advocate, the learned counsel for the petitioner, has argued that the notification dated June 26, 1980, (Annexure P-1) is void, illegal and wholly without jurisdiction. Under sub-section (1)(b) of section 4 of the Act, the State Government can declare any area adjacent to and within the distance of 2 kilometers from the outer-side of, among others, an ancient and historical monument. Braham Sarovar at Kurukshetra is neither ancient nor historical. It is not even a monument. The ancient and historical monuments are those, which have been so declared under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (Act No. 24 of 1958). The learned counsel contended that the Braham Sarovar has not been declared to be a historical monument under Act No. 24 of 1958. Even otherwise there is no evidence that this Sarovar is an ancient or historical monument. He has also contended that he has filed an affidavit of the petitioner dated September 13, 1981, showing that the Braham Sarovar is not treated to be an ancient monument either by the Archeological Department or the Kurukshetra University. This submission has not commended itself to me. No Indian is ignorant of the historical significance of Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra has found its place even in the ancient Indian lore. Everybody, in India, has heard of the great battle of Mahabharat, which was fought at Kurukshetra. Braham Sarovar and other places around it are monuments to those brave heroes who lost their lives in the defence of truth. It could not be plausibly argued that Kurukshetra is not historical or it is not ancient. Braham Sarovar is as old as Kurukshetra. Expression 'monument' is a term of very wide connotation. All places, which are in any way associated with a great man, event or action are termed as 'monuments'. Even the definition of 'monument' as given in the 1958 Act is also very wide and it is only an inclusive definition.