Chandigarh, September 13
Finally, the tapestry will be put back. Following uproar by eminent citizens of Chandigarh and intense coverage by The Tribune, the UT Administration has decided “in principle” to put back the priceless tapestry removed from the courtroom of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice some time back on his orders.

If this happens, a precious piece of city’s heritage will return to its rightful place, a side-wall of the courtroom of the Chief Justice.

Incidentally, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is also learnt to have asked the UT Administrator to properly resolve the issue. His communication to the UT Administration followed a letter written by some renowned citizens, who after coming to know of the apathetic attitude of the Administration towards the city’s heritage, wrote to President Kalam, seeking his intervention in saving the priceless piece of heritage.

UT officials, who did not wish to be quoted, said that a team of preservation experts had also been requisitioned from the National Museum, New Delhi, to clean the tapestry and remove all dust that had accumulated on it.

Sources also said that following the publication of a news report in The Tribune, the office of the Chief Justice has made enquiries from UT Chief Architect’s office about the fate of the tapestry.

“We will put back the tapestry. We are getting it cleaned. We have been given to understand that the Chief Justice has no problem if the tapestry is put back. However, we will seek his permission before doing so,” said a senior UT officer.

Incidentally, it was only after The Tribune published news reports that the UT Administration started some preservation work on the tapestry. Before that, the tapestry had been stashed away, wrapped in polythene bags, with the UT having no intention of putting it back.

It may be recalled that the issue of removal of a huge specially-woven tapestry, one of the few that are hanging on walls of nine courtrooms of the High Court, was highlighted by The Tribune after it was raised by citizens concerned at a meeting chaired by UT Adviser Lalit Sharma.

Asking when the priceless tapestry would be placed back, residents had pointed out that the tapestry was designed by Chandigarh’s planner Le Corbusier himself.

When asked, officers associated with the job had said that the tapestry was removed on the orders of the Chief Justice, Mr Justice B.K. Roy. UT Chief Engineer V.K. Bhardwaj, when asked why the tapestry was removed, had told this reporter that it had been removed on the orders of the Chief Justice.

“We were told that the tapestry is unhealthy as it has a lot of dust. The Chief Justice is allergic to dust and that is why the tapestry was removed. But, we will get it cleaned,” he had said.

While UT officials said there was little chance of the tapestry being put back, citizens refused to let the issue die down.

Signatories to the letter addressed to the President included Chandigarh’s first Chief Architect M.N. Sharma, former Principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture Aditya Prakash, former Principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture Lt. Col. I.J.S. Bakshi (retd), former Chief Secretary of Haryana Saroop Krishen, former Chief Secretary of Punjab P.H. Vaishnav, former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice S.S. Sodhi (retd), former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice R.N. Aggarwal (retd), senior advocate Manmohan Lal Sarin, who is also President of Alliance Francaise, advocate Harpreet Singh Giani and advocate Munish Jolly, Secretary of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.

Saying that they were concerned at the removal of the beautiful wall tapestry from the courtroom of the Chief Justice, these people asked the President to “issue necessary directions to locate the whereabouts of the tapestry and re-place it on the wall — where it belongs — so that the majesty of the court of the Chief Justice of the High Court can be restored”.