Surat property sealed over sale to Muslim woman: What is the Disturbed Areas Act in Gujarat

Under the Act’s Section 5 (a) and (b), the person intending to sell the property has to apply to the Collector for sanction. The Collector holds a formal inquiry, hears various parties, and has the right to clear or reject the deal.

What is the Disturbed Areas Act?

Under the Disturbed Areas Act, the district Collector notifies a particular area of a city or town as ‘disturbed area’. This is generally on the basis of the history of communal riots in the area.

Following this notification, the transfer of immovable property in those areas requires express permission of the Collector. In the application, the seller has to attach an affidavit stating that he/she has sold the property of his/her free volition and that he/she has got a fair market price.Violation of the Act’s provisions invites imprisonment and fine.

According to the Gujarat government, the Act is aimed at checking communal polarisation in parts of the state.

Amendments in 2020 gave more power to Collector, government

In 2020, the Gujarat government amended certain sections of the Act, giving the Collector more powers.

This was following reports of anti-social elements allegedly bypassing the Collector and selling and buying properties in the “disturbed areas” by threatening people or luring them with high prices.

Before the amendments, the Collector would give permission for the transfer of property following an affidavit by the seller that he/she was selling the property voluntarily and at a fair value.

The amended Act gave the Collector more powers to ascertain if there was a likelihood of ‘polarisation’ or ‘improper clustering’ of people belonging to a particular community through the sale, disturbing the ‘demographic equilibrium’ of an area. It also gave the state government authority to review and probe a collector’s decision even if there was no appeal filed against it.

The amendments raised the imprisonment for violation from six months to between three and five years.

Challenges in the High Court

Several cases of property transfers in “disturbed areas” were challenged in the Gujarat High Court.

In Vadodara alone, five cases of property sale between communities since 2016 were challenged after neighbours filed petitions objecting to the sale. In at least three of these cases, the court drew a line on third-party interference and gave orders favouring the deal.

In October 2023, the Gujarat government told the HC it was reconsidering the amendments and would come out with fresh amendments. This was in response to a petition challenging the constitutionality of the amendments.

Among the petitions was one moved by Jamiat Ulama Welfare Trust and Nisar Ahmed Mohammad Yusuf Ansari, who is the general secretary of JU-e-H Gujarat, in 2020. This primarily challenged the concept of “improper clustering of persons” as has been defined under the newly introduced Section 2(d) of the Disturbed Areas (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Which areas are covered under the Act?

Several areas in the districts of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Anand, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Panchmahals and others remain under the purview of the Act, with newer areas being added. The Gujarat government last month extended the application of the Act in existing areas of Anand district for another five years.