Meghalaya HC closes Bidhan Bhavan heritage case after PWD agrees to install memorial bust

A public interest litigation seeking heritage protection for the Circuit House at Laban, popularly known as Bidhan Bhavan, has been disposed of by the Meghalaya High Court after the state government agreed to install a commemorative bust and plaque at the site instead of granting it formal heritage status.

The case began with a letter written by Malabika Bisharad on November 12, 2025, raising concerns about reports that the building was set to be demolished. According to her letter, the Circuit House was built by Bidhan Chandra Roy, the second chief minister of West Bengal, in the early 1920s, and had hosted figures including Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas Chandra Bose during their stays in Shillong. She had asked the court to step in and prevent the demolition, arguing the building deserved protection under the Meghalaya Heritage Act.

A division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh took up the matter as a suo motu PIL and, on December 4, 2025, directed the Heritage Committee to assess whether the building qualified as a protected structure.

The Meghalaya Heritage Authority examined the question at a meeting on February 23, 2026. In an affidavit filed before the court, Prafulla Kumar Boro, Director of the Urban Affairs Department and Member Secretary of the Authority, informed the bench that the Authority had concluded that the Laban Circuit House does not meet the criteria for listing as a heritage site under Regulation 6 of the Meghalaya Heritage Regulations, 2013. The same meeting, however, cleared Raj Bhavan (Lok Bhavan) for heritage status under the Meghalaya Heritage Act, 2012.

While the Authority ruled out heritage listing for Bidhan Bhavan, it recommended commemorative measures such as installation of a plaque to record its historical associations.

During the hearings, the bench noted that the building was in a dilapidated state and could not realistically be treated as a heritage structure. The judges instead floated the idea of installing a bust of Bidhan Chandra Roy along with a commemorative plaque at the premises.

The state acted on the suggestion. Advocate General A. Kumar placed before the court a report from the Public Works Department (Building), Shillong, confirming that a bust and plaque of Dr Roy would be installed in a symmetrical garden setting at the Circuit House, complete with photographs and citation details, which the court took on record as Exhibit X.

With the commemorative arrangements in place, the bench observed that nothing survives for further consideration in this PIL and disposed of the matter on June 17, 2026, while specifically appreciating the efforts of amicus curiae S. Chakrawarty in steering the case to a resolution.