The 107-year-old Shahibaug Circuit House in Ahmedabad, a silent witness to a pivotal moment in India's freedom struggle, is now at the centre of a fierce debate between demolition and preservation. While engineers warn it is structurally dangerous, heritage advocates argue its historical value is irreplaceable.
The Historic Stage of The Great Trial
To the untrained eye, the building might show its age with cracks and leaks. But in March 1922, it became the courtroom for history. A 53-year-old Mahatma Gandhi, frail and facing serious sedition charges, stood here during "The Great Trial." It was within these walls that Bapu boldly declared the British Empire to be "morally bankrupt" and fundamentally shaky. He was prosecuted under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code for three articles published in 'Young India', with British intelligence monitoring him under the code name "AAA."
A Severe Structural Diagnosis
The current threat is not political but physical. In a detailed letter dated December 12, 2025, the Executive Engineer of the state's Roads and Buildings (R&B) department raised major concerns. The report states the "arch-type brick wall in lime and mortar" building suffers from structural settlement. This has caused significant diagonal cracks in the walls and continuous cracks along the first-floor gallery.
Water leakage in Rooms 6 and 13 has rendered them unusable for seven years. Consequently, the structure has been placed in the "G-4" category, indicating severe damage where about half of the primary elements have collapsed or are in a perilous state. The department warned that continued use risks "untoward incidents."
The Cost of Preservation vs. Demolition
The R&B department's analysis presents a financial hurdle. They estimate that retrofitting the building would cost 84.5% of the expense of constructing a new one. Government regulations typically recommend retrofitting only if costs stay below 30% of new construction. Since the estimated cost nearly triples this limit, the department concluded it is "advisable to demolish the building."
This conclusion was firmly rejected by the Ahmedabad World Heritage City Trust under the AMC. In a formal reply dated December 22, 2025, the Trust highlighted the building's Grade-1 heritage status, the highest level of protection. They described it as possessing "heritage values and beautiful architectural art." The Trust asserted that demolition is legally prohibited under Schedule 19 of the Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations and any restoration needs prior approval from the State-level Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC).
Heritage Experts Weigh In
HCC member Rizwan Kadri emphasized the site's profound historical significance. "The Shahibaug Circuit House is the physical space where the moral authority of the British Empire dissolved," he said. "It is where Bapu as a 'farmer and weaver' proved that an idea — Truth and Nonviolence — was stronger than the world's most powerful military." He believes the demolition proposal must be reviewed.
The Trust has mandated that the structure undergo repair and restoration strictly following heritage conservation guidelines. They argue that given its historical and cultural importance, advice to demolish it is not appropriate. The fate of this iconic structure now hangs in the balance, symbolizing a larger national conflict between modern development imperatives and the preservation of living history.
