In their plea, two registered trusts have sought a direction to the authorities permitting them to organise a cultural programme celebrating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s birth anniversary at Agra fort. A single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh issued notice to the ASI as well as respondents Director General ASI and Union Ministry of Culture. (File). The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the Archaeological Survey of India’s response in a plea moved by two registered trusts against the ASI’s communication rejecting permission to organise a cultural programme at the Agra Fort celebrating the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on February 19. A single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh issued notice to the ASI as well as respondents Director General ASI and Union Ministry of Culture in a plea moved by RR Patil Foundation and Ajinkya Devgiri Pratishthan, claiming that apart from celebrating several festivals, they also celebrate the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, that is Shivaji Jayanti, on a large scale. Appearing for the trusts, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao submitted that the ASI in one line rejected the grant of permission without giving any reason. He further indicated a letter by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde to the Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region with regard to organising the event at Agra Fort on February 19. ASI’s counsel submitted that the trusts are private NGOs and the ASI does not allow private NGOs or bodies to organise events at protected national monuments. “This is not a government body. Problem is today if we allow one NGO, tomorrow there can be another. This is not a state function,” ASI said. On this, Rao argued that films are shot in several such places and that has been allowed. He said that in essence, the state is with his clients as the CM had himself written a letter. The court asked Rao whether the state of Maharashtra can support or sponsor the event and granted him time to seek instructions on the same, listing the matter on February 8. The plea states that while rejecting their application, the ASI has not accorded any reasons, simpliciter rejecting it on December 23, 2022, even though the trusts had requested consideration through various modes and letters. The plea seeks a direction to the authorities permitting the trusts to organise the cultural programme celebrating Shivaji’s birth anniversary at Agra fort. The plea claims, “Speaking order or reasoned order is considered the third pillar of natural justice. A reasoned decision is called a reasoned decision because it contains reasons of its own in its support. A mechanical order passed by an authority is not sustainable and thus impugned communication/order is liable to be set-aside at the threshold.” The trusts claim that the actions of the authorities are manifestly arbitrary in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution when they are “obviously unreasonable, capricious, irrational, without adequate determining principle, or excessive and disproportionate”. The plea claims that the actions of the authorities also violate Article 19, which grants the trusts the “freedom to organise events to promote and promulgate the heritage and social values of the national figures and icons anywhere in the country”. “Impugned communication is a classic example that the Respondents are acting in an unconstitutional manner and Petitioners are subjected to whims and fancies of the Respondent Authorities which infringes upon the fundamental rights of the Petitioners,” the plea states.