Gir Somnath demolition was anti-encroachment drive, contempt petition trying to give communal colour: Gujarat tells SC

The affidavit said the petitioner “has suppressed the fact that the present contempt petition is the sixth proceeding initiated by various litigants who claim to be representing the interests of residents of village Prabhas Patan; with no protection, interim or otherwise having been granted by any other fora, including the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat, the Ld. Civil Court, Veraval and the Ld. Waqf Tribunal, Gujarat.”

Regarding the “ownership of the lands in question”, the state “submitted that Revenue Survey Nos. 1851, 1852 and 1853 of village Prabhas Patan, taluka Veraval, district Gir Somnath, from where the encroachments were removed, are government lands abutting the waterfront (Arabian Sea).”

The state said that the removal of encroachments on government lands in village Prabhas Patan on September 28 “was the fifth phase of removal of encroachments in the said village. All phases of demolition have taken place by following due procedure prescribed in law, so as to ensure that government lands are freed of encroachments.”

“It is respectfully submitted that it is unfortunate that the petitioner, in the captioned petition, has given a communal colour to the work performed by the respondents, which is far from the truth,” the affidavit said.

The District Collector said that “before the removal of encroachments on 28-29.09.2024, the encroachers were on 05.09.2024 issued notices under Section 202 of the Gujarat Land Revenue Code for removal of illegal encroachments” but “the encroachers (particularly, the managers and administrators of the illegal structures), as a concerted strategy, refused to accept the said notices dated 05.09.2024.”

This refusal “was recorded in the Panch Rojkams which were prepared on 05.09.2024”, the affidavit said. On Wednesday, the SC adjourned the hearing on the contempt plea after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioner, sought time to file its response to the Collector’s affidavit.

On September 17, the SC in an interim order had said that “there shall be no demolition anywhere across the country without seeking leave of this court”. It clarified that “our order would not be applicable if there is an unauthorised structure in any public place such as a road, street, footpath, abutting railway line or any river or water bodies and also to cases where there is an order for demolition made by a court of law”.