Project to transform Nijalingappa's house into a museum caught in a legal tangle

CHITRADURGA: For a long time, the people of Chitradurga have been demanding that the house that former chief minister and freedom fighter S Nijalingappa stayed in into a memorial museum. Although the state government, in November 2021, agreed to sanction Rs 5 crore towards the purchase and subsequent development of the house into a museum, the execution of the project has unwittingly gotten mired in a legal quagmire.On May 10, officials of the district administration who met to discuss the project decided to purchase the property from Nijalingappa's grandson Vinay Kiranshankar Siddayanahalli, who is based in the United States of America. But, after Vinay had made the long journey to Chitradurga to complete the transaction on June 29, he was denied a sale deed at the sub-registrar's office, with the personnel there citing legal issues. Members of Nijalingappa's family and the former CM's followers are understandably upset with the manner in which the entire issue was handled.
MLC Mohan Kumar Kondajji, a member of the S Nijalingappa Samadhi Committee, said that the Chitradurga deputy commissioner's failure to purchase the former CM's house amounted to violation of the CM's order. "If there were legal issues with the house, why invite Vinay from the US? We have been eager to see the house turned into a museum, and worked for it for the past four years. Now, the district administration is dragging its feet on the same for no proper reason," Kondajji told TOI.
In his will, Nijalingappa vested the power to sell the house to his grandson Vinay, the MLC said. "The DC wrote to the Chitradurga sub-registrar on May 18, and again on June 7, seeking a draft of the sale deed. The sub-registrar had also been warned for failure to respond to the first letter on May 18. It is not clear if the DC ever received the draft, but not allowing Vinay to sell the house, amounts to an insult. We have sought the DC's transfer so as to ensure work on the museum proceeds smoothly," Kondajji added.
Chitradurga-based chartered accountant Uday Shankar, who is also Nijalingappa's grandson, pointed out that the former CM had bought the house with his own money. "In his will, my grandfather made it clear that the house was to be enjoyed by his three sons, while the authority to sell the property would rest solely with Vinay. Since he was ready to go through with his sale, Vinay had come to Chitradurga from the US. Nijalingappa's son Kiran Shankar too was present to sign as a witness. Even the DC's legal advisor gave his nod. But the DC pointed out that the khata was not in Vinay's name. Our attempts to explain our situation to her were to no avail, and she even grew suspicious of our haste to sell the house. Even when we informed her that Vinay was to return home the next day, she did not heed our pleas. Now, Vinay is back in the US, and very busy," he said.