MOHANBHAI HARIBHAI DESAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioners have challenged the Government decision dated 22.12.1999 abolishing Vagadod taluka in Patan District and placing all the villages comprised in the said taluka into Patan taluka. By ad-interim order dated 28.12.1999 this Court had directed the respondents to maintain status quo regarding abolition of Vagadod talukas. In view of the above ad-interim relief, the Government had not issued any notification under section 7 of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879.

(2.) The first petition in Special Civil Application No. 10459/99 is the Sarpanch of the Vagadod Gram Panchayat. The other petitioners are residents of villages which are part of the Vagadod taluka. Prior to 15.10.1997 the villages in Vagadod taluka were part of Patan taluka and by Government notification dated 15.10.1997 erstwhile Mehsana District was bifurcated into Mehsana District and Patan District. Vagadod taluka was constituted as a new taluka with 39 villages and placed in Patan District. In December, 1997 the State Government had undertaken the exercise of reconstituting talukas, but Vagadod taluka continued as such without any change. Thereafter, the Government took impugned decision on 22.12.1999 to abolish Vagadod taluka and to make it a part of Patan taluka, but before the said decision could be converted into a Government notification when the State Government issued notifications in respect of other talukas on 31.12.1999, the petitioners approached this Court and this Court granted interim relief dated 28.12.1999 for maintenance of status quo as already stated above.

(3.) Thereafter, on 25.1.2000 another petition being Special Civil Application No.390/2000 came to be filed where also the petitioners challenged the decision to abolish Vagadod taluka and they raised additional plea that the headquarters of Vagadod taluka should be at Jangral and prayed for a writ of mandamus declaring the action of the State Government in fixing Vagadod as taluka headquarters as illegal, arbitrary and irrational and to direct the State Government to declare Jangral as taluka headquarters of Vagadod taluka.