PRAKASH ISHWARBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of present writ-application filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the writ-applicant herein has prayed for the following reliefs :-

(2.) It is the case of the writ-applicant that, one of the victim of land grabber a headstrong person has acquired nearly 300 acres of agricultural lands in the name of a firm in District Anand in State of Gujarat. The land grabber is not an agriculturest but by submitting fabricated bogus documents before Revenue Officers and in connivance with the officers certified those entries. The land grabber obtained one bogus certificate from respondent No.3 and presented before Mamlatdar at Ankalav Dist : Anand and got the sale deed entries certified in the revenue records. In this way this chain of conspiracy went in other Districts of Gujarat. In this way, acquired huge crunch of lands by playing fraud with the farmers as well as the State. Though the Collectors of State, Police Department, the Revenue Department etc., are well aware of illegal acts of such headstone person, instead of taking stringent action they are allowing him to carry out his illegal acts may be due to any kind of gratification. When the present writ-applicant received such information from Mamlatdar -Ankalav that a certificate is issued by the respondent No.3 that "Viral Hasmukhrai Ajmera is an agriculturist in District Gandhinagar village CHALA.", the writ- applicant preferred RTI application before respondent No.3. The Respondent No.3 being the custodian of Revenue Record willfully did not part the requested information nor replied to the writ-applicant therefore, it is a clear cut breach of the RTI Act as well as other laws.

(3.) Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the refusal of information the writ-applicant herein preferred a complaint before the respondent No.2 on 1/3/2018 under Sec. 18 of RTI Act, 2005 as per prescribed format. The Respondent no:2 registered the complaint under Sec. 18 of the RTI Act as a Second Appeal being no A-1742-2018 and passed an order on 8/3/2018 disposing of the Appeal reserving the liberty in favour of the writ-applicant to prefer statutory Appeal under Sec. 19 of the RTI Act. The said order is subject matter of challenge before this Court invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India.