Orissa High Court seeks affidavit from Centre, state on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose PIL

A PIL seeking the court’s direction to the central government to declare Netaji as a ‘national son’ and observe his birthday as a ‘national day’.
Image used for representational purposes only
Image used for representational purposes only
Updated on
2 min read

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has asked the central and state governments to file affidavits in reply to a PIL seeking certain directions regarding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose by February 12.

Pinakpani Mohanty, a resident of Cuttack, filed the PIL seeking the court’s direction to the central government to declare Netaji as a ‘national son’ and observe his birthday as ‘national day’. Mohanty also sought direction to declare birthplace of Netaji as national museum.

He further sought direction for declassification of transfer to power agreement of year 1947 including of intelligence bureau secret files regarding Netaji and for acceptance of the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry report.

Acting on it, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice MS Sahoo on Wednesday said deputy solicitor general Prasanna Kumar Parhi representing the Union of India and state counsel SB Panda will be heard on the adjourned date.

“They have leave to file affidavit, if they will, to be accepted on adjourned date upon advance copy served,” the bench specified and adjourned the case to February 12.

Petitioner counsel S Mukherjee alleged that a representation to the prime minister was referred it to the Home Ministry. But the Home Ministry did not act to address grievances in the representation, the petitioner counsel alleged while submitting a memo on it.

However, the bench said, “We have not taken the memo on record because action/inaction of the Home Ministry may be separate cause of action for petitioner.” Netaji was born at Janaki Nath Bhawan at Oriya Bazar in Cuttack. It has been converted into Netaji Birthplace Museum since 2004.

The Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry was instituted by the NDA Government in 1999. It concluded that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose did not die in any plane crash on August 18, 1945. It also commented that the ashes kept in the Renkoji temple in Japan was not of the late Netaji but was of one late Okahara Ichiro.

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