Amartya Sen vs Visva-Bharati: Lower court rules in favour of economist

Kolkata: Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen on Wednesday won the first round of legal battle against the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, with a district court in West Bengal's Birbhum dismissing the notice of eviction issued by the university authorities against Sen last year.

In April last year, Sen had approached the district court after the eviction notice was issued against him in a dispute over 13 decimals of the land within the university campus. The authorities claimed that the Nobel laureate economist illegally occupied that portion of the land.

Finally, the district court on Wednesday delivered its judgment in the matter and dismissed the eviction notice issued by the university authorities. Till the time of filing of this report, there was no reaction from the Visva Bharati authorities on the court order.

“We have won. Amartya Sen will not have to vacate the land. The court observed that the eviction notice against him lacks factual basis,” Sen’s counsel said after the order was passed.

To recall, The dispute over the 13 decimals of land started when then Vice Chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, Bidyut Chakraborty, started accusing Sen of illegally occupying 1.38 acres of land which is in excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres.

However, Sen refuted the allegation, claiming the original 1.25 acres were gifted to his grandfather late Kshitimohan Sen, who was the second VC of Visva-Bharati University.

Later, Sen's father late Asutosh Sen, who was also a professor with the same university, purchased the remaining 13 decimals of land, which is at the centre of the dispute.

The West Bengal government had recently transferred leasehold rights of the entire 1.38 acres of land to Sen to thwart any eviction attempt by the university authorities.