Jitendra Desai, a trustee of the Navjivan Trust, said that at the moment he would not like to disclose what exactly the Trust planned to do to acquire Gandhi’s belongings from Mallya. “But we will certainly approach the Union Culture Ministry to procure them and take them in the trust’s custody.”

However, Desai said he had full faith that Mallya would handover the properties to the government. “I believe Mallya has taken the initiative in national interest and he will return the articles to the government.” Earlier, Mallya had bought Tipu Sultan’s sword in an auction in Europe.

Asked about the resentment some Gandhians had aired over Mallya using his liquor money to buy the memorabilia, he remarked: “Mallya has made good use of his liquor money by buying Gandhi’s articles.’’

Desai said the trust had moved the Madras High Court in 2006 against auctioning of Gandhi’s letters. “The Madras High Court had granted a stay and we could stop the letters being auctioned in London,” said Desai.

He said the government had procured the letters and handed them over to the Navjivan Trust as it is the only legal heir to Gandhi’s properties.

“We handed over the papers to the director of the Nehru Museum in New Delhi to preserve it for posterity,” he said.

“Similarly, if the government procures Gandhiji’s belongings bought by Mallya from New York and hands them over to us, the trust will return them to the government for their preservation at a protected place,” Desai said.

The trust claims to be the sole heir of Gandhi’s moveable or immovable properties on the strength of a will Gandhi had signed on February 20, 1940 in the presence of his disciples Pyarelal Nayyar and Kishorlal Mashruwala.

The will reportedly says: “Anything, which by social convention or in law is considered mine: anything moveable or immovable; books, articles etc …I endow to Navjivan Institution, whom I hereby declare as my heirs.”

The trust was set up by Gandhi in 1929.

Veteran Gandhian Amrutbhai Modi, a member of the Navjivan Trust and secretary of the Sabarmati Ashram and Gandhi Memorial Museum, echoed Desai’s views, but wished the Union government framed a law to protect artefacts related to national icons like Gandhi.