HC notice to Gujarat govt on plea against Disturbed Areas Act

The Gujarat High Court onWednesday issued a notice to the state government on a pleachallenging certain provisions of a law that is meant toprevent distressed sale of property in communally sensitiveareas, and restrained it from issuing notification under themtill next hearing.

A division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath andJustice AJ Shastri issued the notice to the government on theplea related to certain provisions of the Disturbed Areas(Amendment) Act, 2020, and fixed the next hearing on February3.

''Ms Luvkumar (government pleader) upon instructionshas informed that as of date, the notification under section3(1)(ii)(iii) of the Amending Act, 2020, has still not beenissued, and is at the stage of the assent of the Governor.

''Till the next date fixed, the respondent state isrestrained from issuing any notification under the aboveprovisions,'' the court said.

The Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of ImmovableProperties and Provision for Tenants from Eviction fromPremises in the Disturbed Areas (Amendment) Act, 2020 violatesArticles 14, 19, 21, constitutional morality and the basicfeatures of the Constitution, said the plea moved by JamiatUlama-e-Hind.

''The 1991 Act, as amended by the 2020 Amendment Act,gives legal imprimatur to further entrench and codify thesegregation between communities.

''Accordingly, Muslims and other minorities of Gujaratwho are already ghettoised will be further marginalised andsegregated under the said legal sanction,'' the plea said.

The petition said the amended Act desires tocompartmentalise communities based on the so-called 'commontraits''.

It introduces the concept of identification ofproper clustering of persons of one community on the basisof traits of residents of a particular geographical areahaving common norms, religion, values or identity and sharinga sense of place in the said area, it said.

The criteria laid down by the government to declarean area as disturbed under the Act''are vague, uncertain andbasically opposed to the constitutional values of equality,liberty and fraternity,'' the plea said.

The Act denies equality of status and opportunity tomarginalised communities who will be forced to live in ghettoswhich will hamper their overall development, the petitionsaid.

Consequently, the Act breeds social andeconomic injustice against marginalised sections of thesociety, it said.

The Act restricts sale of property by members of onereligious community to those from another community withoutthe prior approval of the district collector in areas declaredas disturbed''.

To stop people from acquiring properties in disturbedareas through illegal means, the Act proposes imprisonmentbetween three to five years along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh or10 per cent of the value of the property, whichever is higher.

As per the new provisions, the word transfer nowincludes the sale, gift, exchange, lease or taking possessionof the property by way of power of attorney.

Under the amended Act, the collector can now check ifthere is any likelihood of polarisation, disturbance indemographic equilibrium or any likelihood of improperclustering of persons of a community if property transfertakes place.

The collector can reject the application of propertytransfer after making an assessment on these grounds.