Muslim woman ‘threat and nuisance’: Gujarat HC says suo motu lacks public interest
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The Gujarat High Court on Friday chose not to take suo motu cognisance of a report detailing protests by residents of a low-income housing complex in Vadodara against the allotment of a flat to a Muslim woman, The Indian Express reported.
The court stated that the issue did not qualify as a public interest matter and advised the allottee to file her own petition if her rights were being violated.
The protests, which began in 2020 and continued with a recent demonstration on June 10, were reported by The Indian Express. The report highlighted that the Muslim woman, an employee with an arm of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development, had been allotted a flat in the Harni area under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana in 2017.
However, 33 residents from the 462-unit housing complex lodged a complaint with local authorities, objecting to her moving in due to her religion. They cited potential "threat and nuisance" and demanded that her allotment be invalidated and she be relocated to another housing scheme.
Despite these protests, Vadodara Collector BM Shah clarified that the Disturbed Areas Act, cited by the protesters, does not apply to government housing schemes. Therefore, the residents' complaints cannot be upheld based on this act.
Brijesh Trivedi, President of the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association, referred to the report while requesting the court of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi to take suo motu cognisance of the situation. He mentioned that Vadodara Municipal Corporation officials had indicated that only the court could decide on the matter, as the VMC would not intervene.
Chief Justice Agarwal responded by asserting that the Muslim woman could independently file a petition if she faced difficulties in taking possession of the allotted flat. She emphasized that the court would address any petitions filed by the woman but noted that not every issue requires judicial intervention in the absence of a direct appeal from the affected party. The court maintained that the matter did not warrant public interest litigation status.
The Muslim woman remains the only such allottee under the government scheme in the complex. The controversy underscores ongoing communal tensions and the challenges faced in integrating diverse communities within government-sponsored housing initiatives.