HC issues notices to Gujarat forest minister, collector

Gujarat High Court has issued notices to state Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava, alongwith four others including a collector and a top police official, on a petition seeking revocation of criminal action in a political dispute in Rajpipla Municipality.
Justice Paresh Upadhyay, while ordering stay of criminal actions against the petitioner under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, has also issued notices to Collector and Superintendent of Police of Narmada district seeking their responses to the petition.
Bharat Vasava, in a petition filed through advocate Babu Mangukia, claimed that the district collector issued order for his detention under PASA at the behest of the minister.

The wife of Bharat Vasava, elected to Rajpipla Municipality on a Congress ticket, in an earlier petition made to the High Court, had challenged the government resolution changing the Roster declared by Government for the office of the President of the Rajpipla Municipality.
Roster is a scheme under which it is decided as to in which order the position of the president of the municipality will be kept reserved for scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, women or general category.
"The state government had changed the roster from general category and reserved the post of president for a candidate belonging to scheduled tribe," the petition said.

Subsequently, the High Court stayed the government order on Vasava's plea and by virtue of it the election for the post of President and Vice-President for the municipality could not be held.

Out of the 27 seats in Rajpipla Municipality, 14 members support Congress while 13 are BJP supporters, the present petition of Vasava said.
"So as to grab the power in the Municipality, the Minister threatened me saying that if my wife does not withdraw the petition and cross over to BJP with 5 of her councillors, I will have to face dire consequences," Vasava alleged in his petition.

He also claimed that the Minister threatened him on May 1, 2013 and the Collector issued orders for his detention under PASA on May 28.
Collector, as district magistrate, issued the detention on the ground that in 2004-05, when Vasava was President of the Municipality, he had allotted 50,000 sq ft of land without the prior sanction of the then Collector.
The petitioner has sought the direction to quash the order of the Collector by declaring it illegal.