Approach Centre to make Mehrangir a national monument, Bombay high court to BARC employee

The Bombay high court on Wednesday allowed employes of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to make a representation to the Union govt to declare nuclear scientist Homi Bhabha's bungalow here a national monument.

Prashant Worlikar, a BARC employee, had filed a public interest litigation in the high court seeking a halt to the auction sale of Mehrangir bungalow in Malabar Hill, where Dr Homi Bhabha had lived along with brother Dr Jamshed Bhabha. A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice MS Sonak were informed about a city survey map of 1915, procured from the collector's office, which showed the house was present even then.

Worlikar said: "The map indicates that the house was there then also, which means it's over 100 years old and qualifies to be declared a national monument under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act."

On the last hearing, the Centre had submitted that after due consideration, it had been decided that the bungalow could not be declared a national monument.

The bench disposed of the PIL, saying the petitioners could make a representation to the Centre for declaring the structure a national monument. It also directed the govt to take a decision, within six months, on the representation.

The Godrej family bought the sprawling house of the father of India's nuclear programme in an auction for a whopping Rs 372 crore from the National Centre for Performing Arts, its custodian.

The Centre had, some time back, shown interest in acquiring the mansion, but later told the court that under the central laws it could not acquire the property and hence had asked the state govt to take over the structure. The state had said the proposal to convert the bungalow into a heritage monument was under its consideration.

Bhabha lived in Mehrangir, one of Mumbai's landmarks, several years before his death in an air crash in the French Alps in January 1966, following which Jamshed became the custodian of the property. A patron of fine arts and culture, Jamshed looked after it till his death in 2007, after which it was transferred to NCPA.