On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court rejected a public interest litigation that sought to compel the state government to allocate 10 guntas of land for the establishment of a memorial dedicated to the late Kannada film actor, Dr. Vishnuvardhan. The proposed site for this memorial was the location where he was cremated in 2009.

A division bench of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind said,

“Construction of memorial of a film star cannot become subject matter of public interest litigation. It is difficult to visualise as to what public interest will be achieved by the petitioner insisting for grant of land for the said purpose.”

The petitioners had urged the authorities to review their plea and allocate land for the memorial. They argued that Dr. Vishnuvardhan, a beloved figure in the Kannada film industry, had garnered millions of fans who admired his acting prowess. Therefore, they contended that it was necessary to grant land for the construction of a memorial in his honor.

Upon reviewing the records, the bench observed that a previous writ petition had been filed contesting the erection of a monument on the same land where the film star was cremated. During those proceedings, the authorities submitted a memorandum indicating their intention to relocate the monument from Bengaluru to Mysore. Additionally, they disclosed that an amount of Rs 8 crore had already been spent on this endeavor.

Following which the court said, “The Subject matter brought before the court is said to be hardly fit to be considered under the Public interest jurisdiction. It is entirely in the domain of the authorities to consider such measures and requests. The high court exercising public law jurisdiction cannot have any say.”

Accordingly, the plea was summarily dismissed.

Appearance: Advocate Arun K S for Petitioners.

Case Title: V.S.S VISHNU SENA SANGHATANE & Others AND State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: WP 29408/2023