New Delhi, Oct. 5: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a detailed affidavit from the Centre on the proposed relocation of the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library, directing it to disclose the exact space earmarked for the institution and place the proposed layout plan before the court.
A bench of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva gave the Centre three weeks to furnish details of the proposed accommodation and clarify whether it would be sufficient to house the library’s entire collection, including books presently kept at its RK Puram facility.
The court also requested senior advocate Hari Priya Padmanabhan to assist it as amicus curiae in the suo motu proceedings concerning relocation of the library from Shastri Bhawan, which is proposed to be demolished under the Central Vista redevelopment project.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the bench that space for the library had been earmarked under the redevelopment plan.
The court, however, expressed concern over whether the proposed accommodation was adequate, particularly in view of the large number of books stored at RK Puram.
Justice Kumar stressed that the library’s historical significance and valuable holdings required proper preservation and questioned whether two rooms at Kartavya Bhavan could meet its requirements.
The Central Secretariat Library, functioning under the Union Culture Ministry, was established in Calcutta in 1891 as the Imperial Secretariat Library and later shifted to Delhi after the transfer of the capital. It has been housed at Shastri Bhawan since 1969.
The library, described as the second-largest Central government library after the National Library in Kolkata, has more than 8.5 lakh volumes, including rare books, official publications, records and gazetteers.
Concerns over the relocation arose after a proposal to allot about 300 square metres at Kartavya Bhawan-2, considerably less than the space earlier sought for the library.
Pramod kumar is a Senior Journalist, Covering Supreem Court of India
