• Vacates civil injunction issued by Mysuru Local Court
• Memorial to come up at 5-acre land near Udbur Gate
• Actor’s family welcomes High Court order

Mysuru: A Memorial for late actor “Sahasa Simha” Dr. Vishnuvardhan in Mysuru will soon be a reality as the Karnataka High Court has given permission to build the Memorial by vacating a civil injunction issued by a  Mysuru Court. The injunction was vacated yesterday and according to Vishnuvardhan’s family, works on the Memorial will begin immediately after the Lok Sabha elections.

Vishnuvardhan is a part of the triumvirate of Kannada cinema along with Dr. Rajkumar and Ambarish and his family and fans were frustrated with the delay by the Government in building the Memorial. The actor died on Dec. 30, 2009 and Mysuru is his native. Dr. Vishnuvardhan had carved a niche in Kannada cinema by donning various roles in over 200 films.

The Memorial was initially planned at Abhiman Studio in Uttarahalli, Bengaluru, where the actor was cremated. Later the Government allocated alternative land at Mylasandra in Kengeri. This piece of land too got embroiled in a controversy as it came under the buffer zone of Turahalli forest.

However, due to tussle over land, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, wife of the late actor, decided to shift the Memorial to Mysuru. The Government readily agreed and allotted five acres of land near Udbur Gate in Mysuru.

Civil injunction

The civil injunction was related to ownership of the six-acre, five guntas of Government land on Survey Number 8 near Udbur Gate on Manandavadi Road. Five acres of the land was sanctioned to the Memorial.

The land is located at Halalu village, Kasaba Hobli and after the Mysuru District Administration allotted the land for the memorial and handed it to the Department of Information and Public Relations, Mahadevamma and Sannappa from the village claimed ownership over the land.

Foundation stone

They approached the Second Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court in Mysuru and sought a stay to the Vishnuvardhan Memorial. The Court issued a civil injunction in favour of Mahadevamma and Sannappa. Meanwhile, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and fans laid the foundation stone for the Memorial on 6.12.2016 and dug up two borewells and laid the foundation for a compound wall too. Works were, however, stopped following the civil injunction.

Case in High Court

The then Tahsildar of Mysuru T. Ramesh Babu approached the Fourth JMFC Court to vacate the injunction but the Court upheld the injunction order issued by Second JMFC Court and directed both parties to maintain status quo (which prevented further construction).

Ramesh Babu then moved the High Court (Writ Petition 20286/2017) last February. Hearing the case yesterday, the High Court vacated the injunction as the opposite parties were absent during the hearing and gave permission to build the Memorial in the originally planned design.

Government land

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Ramesh Babu said the land belongs to the Government and the allotment was within the legal framework. “As per the Karnataka Land Revenue Act 1964, Column 94 (4), Government land within 10 kilometres of radius from the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) limits cannot be handed over to private parties or private Trusts. This land is beyond 8 kilometres from the MCC boundaries and certain private parties had encroached upon the land. Earlier too, the claims of private parties over ownership were rejected by the Bagar Hukum Regularisation Committee. Now the High Court has upheld that it is Government land,” he said.

Family welcomes HC order

Reacting on the High Court order, Vishnuvardhan’s son-in-law and actor Anirudh told SOM, “The Memorial construction will happen in Mysuru since that is Appaji’s birthplace and he also breathed his last there. We wholeheartedly welcome the move and thank all the people involved directly and indirectly in the cause.”

Bharathi Vishnuvardhan said that finally, the High Court has cleared all hurdles. “The Memorial will be built in Mysuru as per the wishes of Vishnu fans. It is an honour for the actor,” she said.

Anirudh said that the Government has already sanctioned Rs. 11 crore for the Memorial and of the five acres of land, two acres will be for the Samadhi and the rest of the place will be utilised for a ‘Cinema and Nataka Mantapa’ where upcoming artistes will be trained.

The construction works will be taken up by Dr. Vishnuvardhan Pratishtana Trust and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is its Chairman and Bharathi Vishnuvardhan is a Trustee, he added.