MANOHAR LAL BHARDWAJ Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been filed with the following prayers : (i) By issue of an appropriate writ, order or direction, the order dated 20.08.2011 may kindly be declared arbitrary, discriminatory, illegal and same may kindly be quashed and set aside. The action of respondents in sealing the shops of the petitioner situated at 124/183, Thadi Market, Agarwal Farm, Mansarovar, Jaipur may kindly be held illegal and the respondents may kindly be directed to remove seal and lock from the aforesaid shops of the petitioner and to allow him to run shops at the aforesaid premises. (ii) In the alternative, the respondents may kindly be directed to maintain parity between all the citizens and to take similar action of sealing the shops, offices, banks, liquor shops, showrooms and other commercial activities in Mansarovar, Jaipur, which are being run in residential premises.

(2.) WITH regard to first prayer, Ms. Naina Saraf appearing for respondent Nos.3 and 4 has pointed out that the petitioner himself had filed an affidavit on 23.08.2011 before the Municipal Corporation, Jaipur stating that his plot No.124/183, Agarwal Farm, Mansarovar, Jaipur is a residential house in which commercial activities were being illegally undertaken consequent to which the officers of the Municipal Corporation had seized the premises and that in future he would not undertake any commercial activities out of his residential premises. It was further stated in the affidavit that the Municipal Corporation should allow him to use the residential house and he would not undertake commercial activities therefrom until a formal conversion of the property in issue was made from residential to commercial in accordance with the extant laws. Counsel for the respondents would submit that in view of the aforesaid affidavit nothing remains for the petitioner to argue on merit. Counsel further submits that in any event the seizure under Section 194(7)(f) of the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009 (hereinafter 'the Act of 2009') on 20.08.2011 was consequent to the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.4783/2004 titled Suo Moto Vs. State. It is submitted that even otherwise the order of seizure dated 20.08.2011 is an appealable order under Section 194(12) of the Act of 2009.

(3.) EVEN while dismissing the petitioner's petition in holding that the petitioner cannot argue his case on the basis of negative equality, it is directed that the Municipal Corporation shall take all requisite steps with reasonable dispatch to ensure that all the commercial activities out of residential plots in Mansarovar, Jaipur are stopped. The Municipal Corporation is further directed to file an affidavit before this Court with regard to the time frame in which the commercial activities from residential plots in Mansarovar will be completely stopped and also state therein as to the number of plots which have been seized for violation of law under the order of the Division Bench referred above.