It is “not a public interest matter”, the High Court said, adding that the allottee could file her own petition.
The Indian Express report published on Friday highlighted that the woman, employed with an arm of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development, was allotted the flat in Harni under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana in 2017.
AdvertisementReferring to the report, Gujarat High Court Advocates Association president Brijesh Trivedi requested the court of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi to take suo motu cognisance of the protests.
It is not a public interest matter.”The woman is the only Muslim allottee under the government scheme.
However, Vadodara District Collector BM Shah said the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act would not apply to government housing schemes.
The Gujarat High Court on Friday refused to take suo motu cognisance of a report by The Indian Express on protests by residents in a low-income group (LIG) housing complex in Vadodara over the allotment of a flat to a Muslim woman. It is “not a public interest matter”, the High Court said, adding that the allottee could file her own petition.
Meanwhile, Vadodara Collector BM Shah told The Indian Express that the Disturbed Areas Act would not apply to government housing schemes and hence, the complaints of the residents cannot be upheld due to the nature of the government scheme.
The Indian Express report published on Friday highlighted that the woman, employed with an arm of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development, was allotted the flat in Harni under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana in 2017.
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Referring to the report, Gujarat High Court Advocates Association president Brijesh Trivedi requested the court of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi to take suo motu cognisance of the protests. The court, however, denied the request. While mentioning The Indian Express report in the High Court, Trivedi said, “Now the officials of (Vadodara) Municipal Corporation are saying that this can only be decided by (the) court… we (VMC) will not interfere.”
Chief Justice Agarwal, however, remarked, “She (the Muslim woman) can file her own petition. She is competent, let her come… we’ll pass orders. If the possession (of the flat) is not given after allotment, she can come. We are not sensitising every issue. A person whose right is being violated…she has a remedy. It is not a public interest matter.”
The woman is the only Muslim allottee under the government scheme. Even before she could move in, The Indian Express report highlighted, 33 residents of the housing complex comprising 462 units sent a written complaint to the District Collector and other authorities, objecting to a ‘Muslim’ moving in, citing possible “threat and nuisance” due to her presence.
Calling it a “representation in public interest”, 33 signatories in the ‘complaint’ submitted to the District Collector, Mayor, VMC Commissioner as well as the Commissioner of Police in Vadodara, and demanded that the dwelling unit allotted to the beneficiary be “invalidated” and the beneficiary be “shifted to another housing scheme”.
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The protests first began in 2020 and the latest demonstration was held on June 10.
The protesting residents also claimed that the area comes under the Disturbed Areas Act. However, Vadodara District Collector BM Shah said the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act would not apply to government housing schemes.
