The Supreme Court recently upheld the August 2025 Gujarat High Court order quashing an FIR lodged against an Ahmedabad-based businessman, Ahmad Allarakha Patel, under the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act (The Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 1991). Patel was accused of grabbing a land parcel of the complainant in Sarkhej area of Ahmedabad and had been first booked in 2020 under the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020.
The case pertains to an FIR lodged at Sarkhej police station on November 29, 2021 under the Disturbed Areas Act, based on the complaint filed by Pranav Harish Sheth, who had contended that Patel was “in illegal possession” of the land that originally belonged to his father, Harish Sheth. He further contended that Patel had indulged in “illegal construction of godowns and a mosque” on the land, located in a residential zone, which was resulting in “financial gain without mandatory permissions” required from the District Collector under the Disturbed Areas Act. The complainant had contended that after the death of his father in January 2006, his name had been entered into the revenue records in June 2007, making him the “legal owner of this land”.
Sheth had moved a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against an August 21, 2025, order of the Gujarat High Court quashing the FIR lodged on November 29, 2021, at Sarkhej police station against Patel. On January 9, Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe dismissed Sheth’s petition, by an order that stated, “We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and order passed by the (Gujarat) High Court.”
Sheth had first filed a complaint with the District Collector of Ahmedabad under the Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act and based on the order of the “Member Secretary, District Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Committee and Resident Additional Collector, Ahmedabad, of January 2021, the police had lodged an FIR at Sarkhej police station. The Gujarat High Court in its judgement of August 2025 had noted tht the complainant had later “come to know that the disputed land falls under the Disturbed Area” and contended that Patel had “without obtaining the prior permission from the District Collector… illegally executed rental and other agreements concerning the disputed land.”
Patel’s advocates, while arguing the case in the Gujarat HC had submitted that the order of the City Deputy Collector of October 2019 to restore the possession of the disputed land to the complainant and register an FIR had been stayed by a Coordinate Bench of the Gujarat HC and the stay was confirmed by a Division Bench of the Gujarat HC.
The Gujarat HC had considered the submissions that the transfer of the land had occurred in 1984 and 1987, when the disputed land was “not covered” under the provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act, and therefore the provisions of the Act could not be applicable to the transaction “retrospectively”. Therefore, the order of the Deputy Collector could not be “used as a foundation for the FIR”.
The August 2025 judgement of the HC had noted, “Therefore, the FIR, which is led on the basis of order dated 21.10.2019 appears to be vexatious proceeding calling it abuse of process of law. The Coordinate Bench of this Court is seized with the issue. Filing of FIR therefore, indicates that the complainant has attempted to shadow the order passed by the Coordinate Bench of this Court staying the implementation, operation and execution of the order dated 21.10.2019. This attempt is found to be malicious. Filing of the FIR is therefore, not less than legal abuse.”
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The HC judgement had quashed and set aside the FIR lodged at Sarkhej police station as well as other consequential proceedings arising out of the FIR.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
