THE STATE OF GUJARAT vs ABDUL REHMAN HAJI IBRAHIM MADARI
- Court
- Gujarat High Court
C/CA/3846/2026 (GJHC240569982026) JUDGMENT DATED: 01/09/2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR CONDONATION OF DELAY) NO. 3846 of
2026
In F/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL/23571/2026
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION/14631/2016
With
F/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 23571 of 2026
In
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14631 of 2016
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2026 In F/LETTERS PATENT
APPEAL NO. 23571 of 2026
In
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 14631 of 2016
==========================================================
THE STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
Versus
ABDUL REHMAN HAJI IBRAHIM MADARI & ORS.
==========================================================
Appearance:
MS HETAL G. PATEL, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the
Applicant(s) No. 1,2,3
MS LAKSHA BHAVNANI, ADVOCATE FOR MR AFTABHUSEN
ANSARI(5320) for the Respondent(s) No. 3
RUSHI B BHAVSAR(9342) for the Respondent(s) No. 2.1
==========================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS.
JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 01/09/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
1. The present intra-court appeal is delayed by 1,055 days
of which no proper explanation whatsoever has been provided
in the application seeking condonation of delay, apart from
reference to some communications exchanged between the
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C/CA/3846/2026 (GJHC240569982026) JUDGMENT DATED: 01/09/2026
authorities, made at a huge gap.
2. Though we are not convinced with the explanation
offered by the State appellants for delay in filing the present
appeal, but on the arguments made on the merits of the
judgment impugned passed by the learned Single Judge,
suffice is to say that the proceedings under Section 73AA of
the Gujarat Land Revenue Code, 1879 were initiated after a
period of 26 years of the execution of sale deed dated
21.06.1982. The learned Single Judge has allowed the writ
petition setting aside the order passed by the Collector in a
suo motu proceedings initiated under Section 73AA of
declaring the sale deed as void, suffering from gross delay of
26 years. None of the reasoning given by the learned Single
Judge in the judgment impugned could be assailed before us.
3. We may also take note of the affidavit filed on behalf of
the Collector before the writ court wherein there is no
indication as to how and when the Collector could come to
know of the sale deed dated 21.06.1982 having been executed
in contravention of Section 73AA of the Land Revenue Code,
1879. The affidavit filed on behalf of the Collector is not even
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C/CA/3846/2026 (GJHC240569982026) JUDGMENT DATED: 01/09/2026
a parawise response to the writ petition, and it is sought to be
stated therein that the Collector reserves his right to file a
parawise reply as and when need arise, and non-dealing with
the parawise contentions in the writ petition may not be
construed as an admission on the part of the answering
respondent.
4. We highly deprecate this practice of filing short affidavit
on behalf of the State authorities without giving parawise
reply to the contents of the writ petition, response to which is
necessary for proper adjudication of the controversy in a
matter. Such affidavits having been filed by the State
authorities are repeatedly coming to the notice of this Court.
5. We, therefore, require the learned Government Pleader
to put his house in order and issue proper instructions/
directions to all working in his office to make sure that the
response in the shape of affidavit of the State authorities be
given in a parawise reply to the main pleading, be it a writ
petition or the affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioner or
appellant. Short affidavit on behalf of State authorities can
only be filed in case of a specific order of the Court concerned
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or the liberty granted by the Court. Filing of affidavit-in-reply
is always under the directions of the Court and there is no
right conferred on any authority to file any response, that too
by way of a short affidavit reserving option for filing a
parawise reply. Rather non-filing of parawise reply to the
main pleading or any affidavit would amount to admission on
the part of the answering respondents to the contents of the
pleadings of the petitioner/ appellant/ applicant.
6. This order shall be complied with in its true letter and
spirit by the office of the learned Government Pleader and
there shall be no deviation in future from the directions of this
Court.
7. Coming to the merits of the present appeal, as there is
no response in the writ petition nor there is any ground made
out in the memo of appeal to disclose as to how and when the
Collector has got knowledge of the sale deed when even the
mutation entry was made in the year 1982, we do not find any
good ground to interfere in the opinion drawn by the learned
Single Judge for quashing of the suo motu proceedings
initiated by the Collector after a period of 26 years.
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8. In the result, the present appeal stands dismissed both
on the ground of unexplained, inordinate delay on the part of
the State appellants as well as on its merit. Dismissed as such.
Consequently, the civil application for stay would not
survive and the same is disposed of, accordingly.
9. This order shall be brought to the notice of the learned
Government Pleader to do the needful.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )
(D.N.RAY,J)
A. B. VAGHELA
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