BHAVAN SANGA GAMARA Vs. RAJKOT MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is directed against the oral order dtd. 6/6/2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.3177 of 2016.

(2.) The case of the appellants- original petitioners is that for the benefit and welfare of animals, a shelter house came to be constructed after following proper procedure and in accordance with law and after obtaining necessary permissions. On account of financial crunch observed by Panjra Pole Trust, commercial shops were constructed on one part of the building facing subject road, which is proposed to be 24 meters vide, and on the other side of the building, residential quarters are constructed. These commercial shops and construction put up were with a sole idea to generate income since appellants being occupiers and tenants of these shops they are regularly paying rent to Goushala which proceeds are being utilized for welfare of the animals and utilized for their shelter and nourishment.

(3.) It is the case of the appellants that in the year 1996, work of Town Planning Scheme Nos.7 and 8 for city of Rajkot came to be drafted, which got finalized and according to the appellants- petitioner, said Town Planning Scheme Nos.7 and 8, road and public streets with their width were prescribed and for present, Bhavnagar road as per Town Planning Scheme was proposed to be 24 meters wide. According to appellants, under the guise of widening of road, deviation in road line of public street prescribed in final Town Planning Scheme Nos.7 and 8 has been commenced. Resultantly, commercial shops which are in occupation of the present appellants will be adversely affected and surprisingly, the then Trustees of Rajkot Mahajan Panjara Pole Trust submitted an affidavit to the Corporation giving consent for demolition and on account of such road widening, according to appellants, there was no authority to submit such affidavit dtd. 17/11/2009, resolutions came to be passed and as a result of it, respondent Corporation served a notice under Sec. 210 of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 ('GPMC Act') to the appellants and as such, left with no alternate, appellants were constrained to approach this Court by filing Special Civil Application No.3177 of 2016 for assailing the action of the respondent authority.