GURU CHARANDAS Vs. STATE OF ASSAM AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. K.P. Sarma, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. K.N. Choudhury, learned Addl Advocate General representing the State respondents.

(2.) Claiming to be a public spirited citizen, the present petition has been filed by a practicing Advocate of Goalpara district bar to challenge various orders starting from the order dated 1.7.84 issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Goalpara to the order dated 26.4.99. There may not be any need to record the details of the impugned order but to state that by the said impugned orders, out of 514 bighas 2 kathas and 18 lechas land earmarked for inclusion in the master plan area of Goalpara Town, different parcels of land have been allotted to various Govt departments. It may be mentioned that by the impugned order, land has also been allotted for construction of a new Court building whereas the petitioner who is a practicing Advocate of Goalpara District wanted that the Court should not be shifted from its present location to the newly allotted site.

(3.) Although petitioner claims that he is bona fide challenging the impugned allotment orders to protect forest land by filing the present PIL in the year 2006 it clearly appears that prior to 2006, the petitioner has done nothing whatsoever for protection of forest or the environment in Dhubri township. If the concern of the petitioner was genuine, nothing should have prevented the petitioner to protest against the land allotment order made nearly 22 years ago on 1.7.84 with reasonable promptitude on the ground of protection of forest, rather than waiting for all these years. It is therefore clearly discernible that only because there was a move to shaft the Court building from the present location to a new location on the newly allotted land, the petitioner has chosen to file the present PIL, expressing as it appears to us a motivated concern about protection of forest land and its consequent adverse impacts.