JAGEGA GUJARAT SANGHARSH SAMITI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this writ -petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ -petitioner, a public charitable trust through its Managing Trustee, has prayed for the following reliefs : -

(2.) Facts relevant for the purpose of deciding this petition may be summarised thus : -

(3.) When this matter was taken -up for hearing, Mr. K.G. Pandit, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner brought to our notice that an advance copy of the petition has been served upon the learned Government Pleader Mr.P.K.Jani. Accordingly, we called upon Mr.P.K.Jani to explain as to exactly what is the decision and how the decision has been taken. Mr.Jani, learned Government Pleader made available the file containing the Notification in question and other relevant papers. Bare perusal of the Notification would suggest that the Notification has been issued by the Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad city in exercise of powers vested in him under Section 33(1)(b) of the Bombay Police Act and the Notification has been issued in public interest keeping in mind the burning problem of vehicular traffic in the city of Ahmedabad and also the safety of the pedestrians, more particularly, on Sunday when thousands of people flock on the streets with their children. We deem fit to reproduce the true translation of the Notification, which is as under : - "Order No.G/UPK/Traffic/344/2012 dated 07.04.2012 of the Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad city. I, S.K.Saikiya, Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad city, in exercise of powers conferred upon me under Section 33(1)(b) of the Bombay Police Act, pass order to control the traffic within the limits of the roads in Ahmedabad as the problem of traffic is increasing day -by -day and due to which, there are obstacles in the movements of the public at large. Often accidents take place on the roads connecting to the public places at the evening hours, especially on Sundays. Therefore, for regulating smooth flow of vehicles of the general public at large, I declare the following highly congested roads referred to above as 'Vehicle Free' on every Sunday : -