THE TIMES OF INDIA ( SUO - MOTU ) vs THE STATE OF GUJARAT
- Court
- Gujarat High Court
C/SCA/9686/2006 JUDGMENT DATED: 08/07/2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9686 of 2006
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THE TIMES OF INDIA ( SUO - MOTU )
Versus
THE STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR PR ABICHANDANI(102) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
SUO MOTU for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR. KAMAL TRIVEDI, ADVOCATE GENERAL with MR. VINAY
BAIRAGARA, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Respondent(s)
No. 1,2,3,4,5,6
M/S TRIVEDI & GUPTA(949) for the Respondent(s) No. 8
MR HS MUNSHAW(495) for the Respondent(s) No. 10,11,12,13
MR PRANAV G DESAI(290) for the Respondent(s) No. 7,9
NANAVATI & NANAVATI(1933) for the Respondent(s) No. 8
NOTICE SERVED for the Respondent(s) No. 14
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CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE
SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 08/07/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA
AGARWAL)
1. Perused the affidavit dated 07.07.2026 of the Principal
Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat filed
today in the Court by the learned Advocate General
appearing for the State – respondents.
2. This Public Interest Litigation has been registered Suo
moto by this Court in the year 2006. The judgment and order
dated 02.05.2006 passed by this Court herein was subjected
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to challenge before the Apex Court in Special Leave to
Appeal (C) No(s) 8519 of 2006. The Apex Court therein
passed repeated orders with respect to the removal of illegal
religious structures which have come up by way of
encroachments on public road.
3. By means of the judgment and order dated 31.01.2018,
the Apex Court has remitted the matter back to the
respective High Courts for ensuring the implementation of
the orders issued on 07.12.2009 and 16.02.2010 in the group
of Special Leave Petitions which have been filed alongwith
the Special Leave to Appeal No. 8519 of 2006 directed
against the judgment and order dated 02.05.2006 passed by
this Court in the present PIL. The entire order dated
31.01.2018 passed by the Apex Court is relevant to be
extracted hereinunder:-
Repeated orders have been passed by this Court with respect
to the removal of illegal religious structures which have come
up by way of encroachments on public land. Now these matters
are pending.
Vide orders dated 7.12.2009, the following directions have
been issued:
“This Court on 29th September, 2009, after taking into
consideration the letter dated 19th September, 2009, sent by
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the Union Home Secretary to the learned Solicitor General of
India, we passed the following order:
"We have heard the learned counsel for the parties. Looking
to the farreaching implications and consequences of the
orders of this Court, on the oral request of the learned
Solicitor General of India, we deem it appropriate to implead
all the States and the Union Territories as respondents to this
petition. The Registry is directed to issue notices to all the
States and the Union Territories within three days. The
Union of India is directed to supply the entire set of papers to
all the Standing Counsel appearing for the State
Governments and the Union Territories.
The States and the Union Territories may file replies
within four weeks and the Union of India is granted liberty to
file rejoinder within two weeks thereafter.
As an interim measure, we direct that henceforth no
unauthorized construction shall be carried out or permitted
in the name of Temple, Church, Mosque or Gurudwara etc.
on public streets, public parks or other public places etc.
In respect of the unauthorized construction of religious
nature which has already taken place, the State Governments
and the Union Territories shall review the same on case to
case basis and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as
possible.
In order to ensure compliance of our directions, we
direct all the District Collectors and Magistrates/Deputy
Commissioners in charge of the Districts to ensure that there
is total compliance of the order passed by us. They are
directed to submit a report within four weeks to the
concerned Chief Secretaries or the Administrators of the
Union Territories who in turn will send a report to this Court
within eight weeks from today.
List this matter for further directions on 7th December,
2009."
All the States and the Union Territories have been
served. Despite service, most of the States and Union
Territories have not filed affidavits as directed by this Court.
In the interest of justice, we grant one more opportunity to
the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of the respective States
and Union Territories to file affidavits. Let the same be filed
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within six weeks, failing which the concerned Chief
Secretaries and Administrators shall remain present in Court
on the next date of hearing.
In case the Chief Secretaries and the Administrators
have not issued circulars to all the Collectors and the District
Magistrates of the Districts, it shall be issued within two
weeks from today.
The Chief Secretaries, in consultation with the
respective Governments are directed to frame the policy in
respect of existing unauthorised construction of religious
nature, which had already taken place. This Court directed
the respondents to review the same on case to case basis. Let
the policies be formulated by all the States and the Union
Territories within four weeks from today.
We are reiterating that the Chief Secretaries, the
concerned District Magistrates and the Collectors/Deputy
Commissioners incharge of the Districts must ensure total
compliance of our order. Any breach in this respect shall be
viewed seriously by this Court.
We direct the Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all
the States and Union Territories to circulate copies of the
order dated 29th September, 2009 and this order to all the
District Magistrates and Collectors/Deputy Commissioners,
other public bodies and local bodies.
We direct the learned Standing counsel appearing for
various States and the Union Territories to ensure that all
copies of the affidavits are filed in this Court on or before
27th January, 2010 with an advance copy to the learned
Solicitor General of India, who is requested to get all these
affidavits tabulated and submit a report to this Court on or
before 2nd February, 2010.
Place this petition for further directions on 4th
February, 2010. Looking to the gravity of this matter, we
direct that no order or direction inconsistent to our orders,
shall be passed by any other Court in the country.”
Vide order dated 16.2.2010, the following directions
have been issued:
In pursuance of the order of this Court dated 29th
September, 2009, by which this Court directed that
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henceforth no unauthorized construction shall be carried out
or permitted in the name of Temple, Church, Mosque or
Gurudwara etc. on public streets, public parks or other public
places, the affidavits of all the States and the Union
Territories, except the State of Uttarakhand, have been filed.
All the States and the Union Territories have taken necessary
steps to ensure that no further unauthorized construction
shall take place and Court’s directions are seriously and
meticulously complied with.
The other part of the directions issued on 29th
September, 2009, were that in respect of unauthorized
construction of religious nature which has already taken
place on public streets, public parks or other public places,
the State Governments and the Union Territories were
directed to review the same on case to case basis and take
appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible. We do not find
comprehensive and satisfactory affidavits as far as this
direction of the order is concerned. Therefore, it has become
imperative to direct all the States and the Union Territories
to formulate comprehensive policy regarding the removal/
relocation/ regularisation of the unauthorized construction
within six weeks’ from today. The policy should clearly
indicate within what period the States and the Union
Territories are going to fully comply with its policy to
remove/relocate/regularise the unauthorized construction.
We also direct all the States and the Union Territories
to identify unauthorized construction of religious nature on
public streets, public parks and public places within six
weeks’ from today.
We direct the Chief Secretary of the State of
Uttarakhand to file an affidavit within two weeks from today.
In case the affidavit is not filed, the Chief Secretary shall
remain present in Court on the next date of hearing.
We also direct all the Chief Secretaries of the States
and the Administrators of the Union Territories to file further
comprehensive affidavits within six weeks’ from today.
The special leave petition is adjourned to 6th April,
2010.”
To ensure the implementation of directions issued by
this Court, consensus has been arrived at Bar and in our
opinion, rightly, that the implementation of the order should
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be supervised by the concerned High Courts. We,
consequently, remit the above matters to the respective High
Courts for ensuring implementation of the orders in effective
manner.
The concerned records be transmitted to the respective
High Courts. The interim orders wherever passed, shall
continue, until the matters are considered by the High Court.
In case any clarification is required, it would be open to the
parties to approach this Court. The High Court will have the
jurisdiction to proceed in the Contempt of any of the orders
passed by this Court.
Pending applications shall also be transmitted to the High
Court.
4. After remittal by the Apex Court, by various orders
passed in the present petition, from 04.07.2019 onwards,
repeated affidavits have been filed by the Secretary, Home
Department from time to time, bringing on record the actions
taken by them for removal/relocation/regularization of
unauthorised religious structures located on public lands in
compliance of the order of the Apex Court.
5. Pursuant to the order dated 06.02.2024 passed by this
Court, the Principal Secretary, Home Department, is filing
affidavits continuously on the dates fixed bringing on record
the action taken by the Home Department of the State with
respect to such structures in 34 districts of the State, after
collecting the data from various municipal/local bodies.
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6. In the affidavit filed today, after collecting the data and
details provided by the Revenue Department with respect to
34 districts as well as the Urban Development and Urban
Housing Department with respect to 8 municipal
corporations, for the period between 01.03.2026 to
30.06.2026, actions taken pursuant to the notices issued by
the concerned departments have been brought on record,
which indicates that substantial number of religious
structures have been removed, relocated and regularized as
per the law. The affidavit also indicates the fresh notices
issued by the concerned departments and steps taken by the
respective authorities in compliance of the order of the Apex
Court and the directions issued by this Court in the present
petition.
7. The paragraph no. 5 of the affidavit of the Principal
Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat dated
07.07.2026 filed today in the Court states as under:
“ In addition to the above, as stated in earlier affidavits, I
say that the aforesaid action of eiter removing or regularizing
or relocating the unauthorized religious structures, is a
continuing and ongoing process, where the State will
continue to undertake all the possible steps in that behalf.”
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8. We are of the considered view that continuous
monitoring has been done by this Court for a period of about
20 years and there has been substantial compliances of the
directions issued by this Court from time to time and also the
observations made in the judgment and order dated
31.01.2018 passed by the Apex Court. In view of the
undertaking given by the Principal Secretary, Home
Department, Government of Gujarat in the affidavit filed
today that the action for removal/relocation/regularization of
unauthorized religious structures is a continuous and
ongoing process and the State undertakes to take all possible
steps in that behalf, we find it fit and proper to dispose of the
present petition with the directions to the Principal
Secretary, Home Department, Government of Gujarat to
ensure that the directions issued by this court in the
judgment and order dated 02.05.2006 as also the orders
passed by the Apex Court as noted hereinabove shall be
complied with in their true letter and spirit, in a continuous
and ongoing process to be undertaken by the respective
authorities from time to time.
9. The Principal Secretary shall authorise any of his
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subordinate officer to get six a monthly report of the actions
taken by the respective authorities and after collating the
data, a report under the signature of the Principal Secretary,
Home Department shall be placed before this court through
the Registrar General of the High Court on six monthly basis,
soon thereafter.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )
(D.N.RAY,J)
VARSHA DESAI
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