TMC MP Yusuf Pathan Approaches Gujarat High Court Over Vadodara Municipal Corporation's Notice Against Alleged Land Encroachment After 10-Yr Delay

Yusuf Pathan, the former cricketer and Lok Sabha MP from Trinamool Congress (TMC) has sought intervention from the Gujarat High Court regarding a land encroachment notice issued by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) after a delay of 10 years.

The notice served on June 6, instructed Pathan to remove encroachments from a plot owned by the VMC in Tandalja within 15 days.

Pathan informed the court that he had applied for the land in 2012, and a different proposal was introduced by the corporation in 2014.

He alleged harassment due to his recent election as a TMC MP, stating, “I have recently been elected from a different party in the Lok Sabha elections, and attempts are being made to harass me.” He pointed out the sudden issuance of the notice after 10 years of inaction.

In response, the High Court has sought clarification from the Vadodara Municipal Corporation regarding this matter.

Pathan's lawyer, Yatin Oza, tried to link his election as a TMC MP with the notice, saying the VMC did nothing for 10 years and suddenly sent a notice just two days after the poll results. When Oza suggested that Pathan was served notice because "his party is different," Justice Sangeeta Vishen asked the lawyer not to deviate and to stick to the main issue.

According to case details, the plot in question is a residential plot owned by the VMC. In 2012, Pathan had requested this plot from the VMC because his house was adjacent to it, offering to buy it at market rate. Although the VMC cleared the proposal to sell the land to Pathan in 2014, the state government, which has the final authority in such matters, did not approve it. However, Oza stated that the land has remained in Pathan's "possession" since then.

When the court noted that the state government has the authority to approve such matters, Oza argued that, according to the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act (GPMC Act), the corporation—not the state—is the final authority if the land belongs to the civic body and not the state government.

Oza also mentioned that the VMC had decided to give the plot to Yusuf Pathan and his cricketer brother Irfan Pathan for their contributions when they were in the Indian team. He argued that the VMC should have allotted the land when it cleared the proposal.

Oza requested that the notice be treated as a show-cause notice to prevent immediate action. "As per the law, the state government's approval is not needed. VMC admitted in the notice that I am in possession of this land. I urge that this notice be treated as a show-cause notice. Otherwise bulldozers will come," said Oza.