Sarav Dayal, who was also the father of the renowned Justice H.R. Khanna, was a respected lawyer and a member of the Congress committee for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh incident. During that period, he acquired two homes one in Katra Sher Singh near Jallianwala Bagh and the other in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. Chief Justice Khanna has been particularly interested in finding the house at Katra Sher Singh.
NEW DELHI: Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India today(11th Nov), is tracing his roots back to his ancestral home in Amritsar. Built by his grandfather Sarav Dayal during the pre-Independence era, this house holds a special place in Chief Justice Khanna’s heart.
As per reports reveal that each time he visits Amritsar, he stops by Katra Sher Singh, treating it almost as a pilgrimage. Despite the area’s transformation over the years, he still searches for his grandfather’s house.
Sarav Dayal, who was also the father of the renowned Justice H.R. Khanna, was a respected lawyer and a member of the Congress committee for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh incident. During that period, he acquired two homes one in Katra Sher Singh near Jallianwala Bagh and the other in Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. Chief Justice Khanna has been particularly interested in finding the house at Katra Sher Singh.
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Following the 1947 Independence, the Katra Sher Singh house was damaged and set ablaze, though Sarav Dayal later restored it. Chief Justice Khanna recalls visiting the house as a five-year-old with his father, where a sign reading “Bauji” (meaning “Grandfather”) was displayed.
This sign now resides at the Dalhousie home. After Sarav Dayal’s passing, the Amritsar house was sold in 1970, yet it remains vivid in Chief Justice Khanna’s memory. He continues to visit Katra Sher Singh to reconnect with his roots.
He fondly remembers his grandfather’s advice to leave schoolbooks behind during vacations, saying the lessons he would share went beyond anything in the textbooks.
