KESHAVLAL KAMABHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed for the purpose of seeking following reliefs:-

(2.) The background of facts which have given rise to this petition is that petitioners are agriculturists having agricultural lands, are claiming to be owners and occupiers and are said to be in possession of such agricultural lands bearing Block No.71 admeasuring 32072 Sq. Mtrs., Block No.72 admeasuring 37231 Sq. Mtrs. and Block No.73 admeausring 25394 Sq. Mtrs., situated at Hanspura, Taluka (Daskroi earlier) now Asarwa, District and Sub-District Ahmedabad. It is the case of the petitioners that after making inquiries about title of the lands, aforesaid lands were purchased from the original owners under three sale deeds dtd. 27/11/1997 and got registered before the office of Sub-Assurance, Asarwa under Registration No.4161, 62 and 63 and names of petitioners came to be mutated in the revenue records as well. According to petitioners, there were three tenements / outhouses in the said agricultural lands wherein, vendors and their family members, including labourers were residing and storing their agricultural equipment and were also paying property tax, water tax, land revenue tax to Sardarnagar Panchayat and on extension of Corporation limits, petitioners were paying property taxes to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

(3.) According to petitioners, in the month of March 2000, precisely on 18/3/2000, when on account of ensuing monsoon season, petitioners started developing and improving lands by executing fencing, at that juncture, officers of respondent Municipal Corporation came to the site and objected for petitioners undertaking the work of fencing or any development activity and posed threat of dire consequences of prosecuting the petitioners. It has been indicated at that time that lands are belonging to Corporation and has been acquired already for the purposes of Sardarnagar Underground Drainage Project by Executive Engineer, Public Health Department of State of Gujarat in 1972 itself. On Account of such prevention by corporation, petitioners filed a suit being Civil Suit No.153 of 2000 in the Court of learned Civil Judge for seeking declaration and injunction for restraining Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and its officers and agents from creating any disturbance of possession of petitioners over the land in question and sought for a declaration that Corporation has no right, title or interest over the land in question. On perusal of the said stand, initially learned Trial Judge was pleased to direct status-quo to be maintained on 28/3/2000, which was extended from time to time, but later on, on 1/5/2003 same came be vacated. As a result of this, a Misc. Civil Appeal was filed before District Court, Ahmedabad-Rural being Misc. Civil Appeal No.62 of 2003 and during the course of appeal, on 2/7/2003 an order came to be passed by the Trial Court vacating the interim relief of stay. However, according to petitioners, later on, after hearing, on 16/11/2017 the appeal got dismissed and a direction was issued to the Trial Court to decide the civil suit within a period of 12 months and said order was stayed for four weeks upon request of petitioners.