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Auroville’s need for help with legal fees

A very brief overview : How have we got to the stage of needing help with legal fees?

Since Dr Jayanti Ravi assumed the post of Secretary of the Auroville Foundation (AVF) in July 2021

there have been extreme disruptions to life in Auroville. The right of Aurovilians to democratically

participate in the governance of their community has been curtailed. Administrative bodies of elected

residents (known as Working Groups) have been unilaterally replaced with individuals sympathetic to

the Secretary’s and the new Governing Board’s vision of Auroville’s development. In pursuance of

that vision, roads (paid for by the Government of India) have been dug up, buildings knocked down,

the homes of Aurovilians threatened with destruction (if not actual destruction), the residents’ media

outlet (Outreach Media) has been taken over, as well as the community’s intranet discussion forum

and the email management of Auroville emails. No information is available regarding who is

managing them now and why some Aurovilians are blocked from posting views on Auronet while

others continue unhindered. A culture of fear has ensued. Foreigners live in fear of their rights to

reside here being withdrawn unless they fall in line. Some still brave enough to speak up have been

subjected to trumped up criminal charges.

Criminal charges, office orders, taking over of Working Groups, our email system and Auronet, the

arbitrary dismissal of long serving residents from their positions of service happen in the name of a

“competent authority” that refuses to identify itself and say what its legal authority is for acting as it

does. It is reasonable to assume the Secretary is central to everything happening but she very rarely

puts her name on any documents at all. The search for accountability never ends.

What is the Community doing in response?

Community members who oppose the takeover of Auroville are in a difficult situation, since attempts

to meet and speak with the Governing Board and Secretary have been ignored. There are peaceful

protests, sit-ins and other attempts to let the world know what is happening. These are fraught with

risks: The Governing Board regard themselves as the “supreme authority” in Auroville. To oppose

them is regarded as sufficiently serious that the Governing Board cites this as a ground in court

pleadings. A climate of fear has (it seems purposefully) been engendered in Auroville. Many feel

there is no choice but to approach the Courts for help. Unlike the Governing Board, the Residents

Assembly does not seek supremacy. It seeks for the Governing Board to honor the harmonious

relationship forged between all three authorities since the Auroville Foundation Act 1988 came into

force. This understanding was articulated by Mr Justice Quddhose in the High Court on 12 August

2022. He said: “The nature of the enactment [ie the 1988 Act] shows that there is no place for egoistic

thinking as all the three authorities [the third being the International Advisory Council] will have to

jointly work for the achievement of ‘The Mother's’Charter. The relationship between the three

authorities is of mutuality.”

Litigation and the need for help with legal fees

Various approaches have been made for judicial help. These have included:

1. Approaches to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to seek its help in getting the Governing

Board to honor its legal duties in relation to the environment when ripping up trees; and

2. Approaches to the Madras High Court to challenge the Governing Board as it: