Gujarat High Court
Judgename :CHIEF Y.R.MEENA, ANANT S.DAVE
AMJADALI GAZANFARALI BHAKHARI - Appellant
Versus
CUSTODIAN OF EVACUEE PROPERTIES - Respondent
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION 15239 Of 2006
Decided On : 11/01/2007
Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 - Constitution of India, 1950 - Articles 14 , 21 and 226 - Petition was mainly contended that petitioner is one of residents of village of city of and holding property in village - It is personal village as per record of rights and by way of public interest litigation petitioner wanted to draw the attention of this Court against arbitrariness highhandedness and illegality of respondents claim of property entire village is pending for consideration of Competent Officer of Evacuee Properties Act, and same is not finally adjudicated till date - According to him during pendency of said claim any property purchased by any of member of public would be ultimately subject to outcome of above proceedings and appropriate directions be given to respondent authorities by issuing writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ to respondents and further - Court may direct authority to immediately take steps pursuant which is pending and to complete said proceedings as expeditiously as possible and to protect interest of public at large by declaring that the property of entire village is composite evacuee property and to maintain status quo with regard to properties in question evacuee share vested in Government - Held, Direct Collector concerned authorities in Municipal Corporation to take due care and see to it that there shall be no illegal construction encroachment on composite evacuee property Notification - State property in question - Further direct Collector concerned authority in AMC and A.U.D.A regarding raised or any illegal construction or encroachment is being made on composite evacuee property notified - State property in question they shall take immediate steps in accordance with law to protect composite evacuee property notified Notification - State property in question and no illegal construction encroachment be permitted till disposal of said pending before Competent Officer - Observations assertion made by Advocate General in main petition and directions all three Civil Applications - Application dismissed
( 1 ) THREE Civil Applications have been filed in Misc. Civil Application No. 2706 of 2006 in Special Civil Application No. 15239 of 2006. The main petition i. e. Special Civil Application No. 15239 of 2006 was filed by one Shri Nirav Vinodchandra Shah, an Advocate by profession under Article 226 of the Constitution of India branding the said writ petition as Public Interest Litigation ("pil" for short) invoking fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. In the above petition, it was mainly contended that the petitioner is one of the residents of Vasana village of city of Ahmedabad and holding property in Vasana village. According to him, it is personal Inam village as per record of rights and by way of public interest litigation, the petitioner wanted to draw the attention of this Court against arbitrariness, high-handedness and illegality of the respondents whereby the claim of the property viz. the entire Vasana village viz. Survey No. 1 to 434, Taluka Ahmedabad is pending for consideration of the Competent Officer under the provisions of the Evacuee Properties (Separation) Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred as "the Act" for short) since 1957 and the same is not finally adjudicated till date. According to him, during the pendency of the said claim, any property purchased by any of the member of public would be ultimately subject to outcome of above proceedings and therefore, appropriate directions be given to the respondent authorities by issuing writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ to the respondents, and further, this Court may direct the authority to immediately take steps pursuant to the C. O. Case No. 1482 of 1957 which is pending and to complete the said proceedings as expeditiously as possible and to protect the interest of the public at large by declaring that the property of the entire village Vasana (Survey No. 1 to 434), Taluka Ahmedabad is the composite evacuee property and to maintain status quo with regard to the properties in question since the evacuee share vested in the Government.
( 2 ) IT is to be noted that on the application for amendment i. e. Civil Application No. 9300 of 2006, by order dated 8. 8. 2006, we permitted impleadment of the applicant - Amjadali Gazanfarali Bukhari (Petitioner of Special Civil Application No. 21996 of 2005) being necessary party, to be joined as party respondent No. 3 in Special Civil Application No. 15239 of 2006.
( 3 ) THE claim of the petitioner of PIL (Nirav Vinodchandra Shah) was contested by the State and it was submitted that no public interest is involved and the petition cannot be maintained.
( 4 ) IT is pertinent to note that the respondent No. 3-applicant (Civil Application No. 1437 of 2007)-Amjadali Gazanfarali Bukhari has also filed affidavit and placed certain documents on record and claimed that C. O. Case No. 1482 of 1957 has remained pending and the Competent Officer has failed to adjudicate the matter and even the Custodian has also not taken care or pain to see that the matter is adjudicated and thus, deprived the respondent No. 3 of his legitimate claim of getting his share and dues.
( 5 ) IT requires to be noted that the main petition i. e. Special Civil Application No. 15239 of 2006 came to be disposed of by our oral order dated 26. 09. 2006, which is reproduced as under :
"this petition is in the nature of Public Interest Litigation. The grievance of the petitioner is that there are evacuee properties in Vasna village, City " Taluka Ahmedabad and the said properties are being encroached by the encroachers but no steps are taken by the State Government to stop and check such encroachments on the evacuee properties. The evacuee properties in question have been so declared by the erstwhile Bombay State, more particularly, Office of the Custodian of Evacuee Property, Bombay vide notification dated 16th April, 1951 which is produced at Annexure-A to the petition. The relevant part of the Notification
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.