National Shame!

Honour Legacy of Honesty: The Unresolved Struggle Over Land Allotted in Memory of Lal Bahadur Shastri

Thirteen years later, on 16 March 2023, the Telangana government issued G.O. Ms. No. 38 cancelling the allotment. The stated reason was that the land had not been put to the intended use. No prior notice reached the institute. No opportunity for hearing was given. The principles of natural justice, long recognised by the Supreme Court as funda-mental, were set aside.

metro india news  I hyderabad

In Budvel village under Rajendranagar Mandal in Ranga Reddy District, 12 acres of land stand as a silent testament to a nation’s respect for one of its purest leaders. On 30 June 2010, the then united Andhra Pradesh government issued G.O. Ms. No. 270, allotting Survey Numbers 283 and 290 to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management Trust, New Delhi. The purpose was clear and noble: to establish a management institute as a living tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The allotment came in lieu of earlier land in Vattinagulapally,  with conditions including government representation on the institute’s Board of Governors.

Physical possession followed swiftly. On 23 July 2010, HMDA land records officials demarcated the boundaries and handed over the land through a formal panchanama to representatives of the institute. A year later, on 19 October 2011, the Metropolitan Commissioner of HMDA wrote confirming the delivery of possession and assuring that registration would take place whenever the institute required it. These were not paper promises. They were acts of administrative commitment rooted in the memory of a man who defined public service through integrity.

Lal Bahadur Shastri never sought wealth or spectacle. He gave the nation the stirring call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” linking the dignity of the soldier with the labour of the farmer. As Railway Minister he resigned after an accident, accepting responsibility without hesitation.

 As Prime Minister he took a bank loan to buy a modest Fiat car for personal use. His family lived simply even while he occupied the highest office. That same spirit of austerity and honesty guided the decision to allot land for an institution bearing his name. His son, Anil Shastri, who launched the institute, did not command vast personal fortunes. Progress therefore moved carefully, measured by values rather than speed.

Thirteen years later, on 16 March 2023, the Telangana government issued G.O. Ms. No. 38 cancelling the allotment. The stated reason was that the land had not been put to the intended use. No prior notice reached the institute. No opportunity for hearing was given. The principles of natural justice, long recognised by the Supreme Court as fundamental, were set aside. The institute, represented by its authorised person C. Hanumantha Rao appearing as party-in-person, approached the High Court for the State of Telangana. Writ Petition No. 9418 of 2023 was filed on 6 April 2023, challenging the cancellation as arbitrary, illegal and violative of accrued rights and uninterrupted possession.

On the same day, Justice Surepalli Nanda examined the original G.O. of 2010, the panchanama of 2010 and the HMDA letter of 2011. The court noted that possession had been delivered and that no opportunity of hearing had been afforded before cancellation. Interim applications seeking protection against interference, against allotment to third parties, and suspension of G.O. Ms. No. 38 were allowed. Respondents were directed to file counters. The interim reliefs stood as a shield for the institute’s claim.

On 25 April 2023 the matter came before Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy. Recording that the government had withdrawn G.O. Ms. No. 38, the single judge disposed of the writ petition without entering into the merits. The institute maintained it had never sought such disposal. A writ appeal followed. On 1 May 2024 a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti dismissed the appeal, observing that a party cannot contradict the recorded order of the single judge in appeal, while leaving open the remedy of review before the same judge.

The institute filed Review I.A. No. 1 of 2024. On 3 May 2024 Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy allowed the review, restored Writ Petition No. 9418 of 2023 to its original number and status, and directed both sides to maintain the existing position until further orders. The next hearing was fixed for 28 June 2024. The principal writ petition thus returned to the active list.

In September 2026 the matter appeared again before Justice Pulla Karthik. On 8 September 2026 the court granted time for counters on an implead application and adjourned the case to 15 September 2026. After that date no further cause list carrying a subsequent hearing has surfaced. The core question remains open: whether the cancellation of an allotment made in 2010, after delivery of possession and official confirmation, stands valid in law.

The land continues under the protective shadow of the restored writ petition. Status-quo orders issued in 2024 remain operative. Final adjudication on the merits of G.O. Ms. No. 38 is still awaited. The institute holds the panchanama, the HMDA letter and the original government order as proof of its title and possession. The State has the opportunity to examine whether administrative cancellation without hearing, years after physical delivery, aligns with the standards of fairness that courts repeatedly uphold.

This is not merely a dispute over survey numbers. It is a test of how a democracy remembers its most honest Prime Minister. Lal Bahadur Shastri’s life was a continuous lesson in responsibility, simplicity and moral courage. Cancelling an allotment made in his memory without offering the allottees a chance to explain the delay risks diminishing the very values he embodied. Anil Shastri and the trust have approached the courts seeking restoration of what was granted in recognition of that legacy.

The present Congress government under Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy holds the administrative power to revisit the matter. Withdrawing from adversarial positions in the High Court and restoring the land would affirm that the State still places integrity above technical timelines. Inviting Anil Shastri for a frank discussion on the practical difficulties of raising resources and offering constructive support would transform a legal contest into an act of national remembrance.

Twelve acres in Budvel can either remain a symbol of interrupted promise or become the foundation of an institute that trains future managers in the ethics of public life. The choice rests with those who govern today. Lal Bahadur Shastri asked nothing for himself. He asked only that the nation remain true to the principles of honesty and service. Honouring that request by restoring the land allotted in his name would speak louder than any official order. It would tell every citizen that the memory of a leader who lived simply and resigned for principle still commands respect in the corridors of power.