AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Tuesday disposed of a petition filed by the family of an accused in the recent Vastral rioting case. The petition challenged the show-cause notice issued by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) regarding demolition of an alleged illegal structure built by the family.
The petition was disposed of after the AMC assured the HC that it would give 15 days to the family to explain its position, before passing a final order regarding the demolition of the house. A 15-day notice is mandatory under the Gujarat Province Municipal Corporation (GPMC) Act, but the AMC granted only three days to the family to respond to the show-cause notice.
The family of the accused individual, Pradip Tivari, filed the petition after receiving AMC’s notice issued on March 15 under provisions of Section 260(1) of the GPMC Act. This happened immediately after Tivari was arrested along with 13 others for rioting and committing violence in Vastral.
The family complained before the HC that the AMC could not initiate action merely because a family member was one of the accused. It was contended that AMC did not follow the procedure and grant enough time to the family. The family moved HC after the AMC demolished the alleged illegal houses of six accused persons.
The HC noted in its order that the family replied to AMC’s show-cause notice on Monday. AMC argued that the petition was premature because the civic body was yet to pass a final order, and it would grant 15 days to respond from the date of the final notice. Justice Mauna Bhatt disposed of the petition stating, “It is open for the petitioners to file an additional reply if they wanted to. It is open for the respondent to provide a personal hearing to the petitioners, if so required.”
Meanwhile, the cops nabbed two more accused in this case – Ravi Tivari and Hemant Bhavsar. They were sent to custodial interrogation for six days by a magisterial court. Also, 13 of the 14 accused persons were sent to judicial custody after their four-day remand got over.