AMIT VISHNUPANT KHOT Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WRIT Petition Nos. 2953 and 3230 both of 2003 were filed at the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court. The Division Bench of the Court vide its order dated 22nd September, 2003 granted interim reliefs in terms of prayer clauses (d) and (e ). This order of stay has continued for all these years. The Aurangabad District Bar Association filed an application for intervention being Civil Application No. 789 of 2007. This application was ordered to be heard along with the main petitions.

(2.) WHEN the matter came up before the Bench at Aurangabad on 16th June 2007, it was felt that as the matter related, and is likely to affect the entire over administration of justice in the State of Maharashtra, even in relation to other buildings, it was considered appropriate to transfer the cases to the principal bench at Bombay. Accordingly both the above petitions were transferred to bombay, renumbered as Writ Petition Nos. 4813 and 4816 of 2007 respectively and were heard together.

(3.) THE petitioner in Writ Petition No. 4816 of 2007 claims to be convenor of " Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage" which is a Non-Governmental Organistion (NGO ). The Aurangabad Chapter with its team of enthusiastic and dedicated members and workers are enduring to keep historical monuments and heritage intact. In order to preserve and protect the monuments, a list had been prepared. However, due care was not taken by the concerned departments to protect these monuments. Persuasion of the petitioners fell on deaf ears of the respondents and more particularly the Archealogical Survey of india, State Archealogy and Museum Department and the Aurangabad Municipal corporation, which did not take steps to protect the old monuments. The petitioner, who claims to be an historian of international repute and has written various books on historical and archaelogical subjects in and around Aurangabad, was a Professor in Marathwada University. On 7th July, 2003 they noticed that one of the darwajas (khas darwaja) situated at Jinsi, Aurangabad was in a dilapidated condition and some part of it had fallen down. The residents in and around the said gate made complaint to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. The Corporation passed an order to raze down the said khas gate. When they were demolishing the said gate, at the intervention of the petitioners and other persons the demolition was stopped.