Lawyers continue standoff

SURAT, Aug 27: Even as the standoff between the lawyers affiliated to the Surat District Bar Association and the Prohibition and Excise D...

SURAT, Aug 27: Even as the standoff between the lawyers affiliated to the Surat District Bar Association and the Prohibition and Excise Department Surat division continues, with both sides trying to prove their point, Prohibition and Excise Commissioner B J Gadhvi is arriving in Surat on an official five-day visit beginning August 29.

In an important announcement made by Deputy Commissioner of Police Prohibition N D Solanki, he stated that although he had confiscated 13 vehicles since May this year, not even a single vehicle had been attached to government property and there was absolutely no substance in the lawyers8217; claims about the attachment.

8220;As such, the matter is sub-judice as one of the lawyers has already approached a first class judicial magistrate with a contempt of court notice against me,8221; Solanki said, adding that he was following provisions of section 100 of the Bombay Prohibition Act and it was better to appeal to a higher authority against his actions instead of burning effigies or agitating.

8220;And if they the prohibition commissioner or the High Court state that what I8217;m doing is wrong, I will stop confiscation,8221; he said.

8220;I have been only seizing vehicles and confiscating them, even if the owner turned up or not,8221; he said, adding that he had been in touch with his seniors over the matter. President of the Surat District Bar Association, Ashit Mehta, expressed hope that with Gadhvi coming to Surat, the issue would be resolved in a couple of days. Solanki had spoken to Gadhvi and a special arrangement had been made whereby senior lawyer of the city Ramesh Kapadia would draft a 8220;rectified directive8221; and hand it over to the commissioner, he said.

Talking to Express Newsline, Kapadia claimed that Solanki had agreed to change his stance on the issue and that he would read the original language of the Act in a different way.

8220;The notification has brought the police and the court into confrontation and this cannot happen. We firmly believe that the law is being misread and has to be made clear to the prohibition police,8221; Kapadia added.

Story continues below this ad

Powers of seizing, and further confiscating vehicles were handed over by the commissioner to the three DCP8217;s in a notification dated April 29 this year. On the next day itself, Solanki issued a circular to all police stations to this effect. Till date, though 13 vehicles 1 truck, 2 Maruti cars, 6 rickshjaws, 2 tempos and 2 scooters have been confiscated by the Surat division, none have been seized so far by the Rajkot and Ahmedabad divisions.

Interestingly, the lawyers have been objecting to khalsa, which when translated means vehicles being attached to government property, although not even a single vehicle confiscated since May 1 has been attached to government property.

Top