Court quashes Visva-Bharati's eviction order against Amartya Sen

SURI: A Birbhum court Wednesday set aside Visva-Bharati's order asking Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to vacate a portion of land at his ancestral home in Santiniketan, which the university claimed he had been occupying illegally.

District and sessions judge Sudeshna De (Chatterjee) said the order, regarding 13 decimals of land at Sen's home, Pratichi, violated all principles of natural justice, adding that a land survey by the university was arbitrary and illegal. The court faulted VB for waking up to Sen's alleged "illegal" occupation after eight decades, while refusing to give him even five months to defend his rights.

Sen had challenged the university notice issued on April 19 last year, ordering him to vacate the land or face eviction.

The university did not immediately indicate if it would challenge the order, with its spokesperson Mahua Banerjee saying a decision would be taken "after examining the order".

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