Gujarat High Court
Harshad Ashokkumar Rathod vs Shree Kalika Mataji Mandir Trust on 17 July, 2025
Author: Sunita Agarwal
Bench: Sunita Agarwal
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/WPPIL/31/2025 ORDER DATED: 17/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/WRIT PETITION (PIL) (WRIT PETITION (PIL)) NO. 31 of 2025
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HARSHAD ASHOKKUMAR RATHOD & ANR.
Versus
SHREE KALIKA MATAJI MANDIR TRUST & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR. RAHUL G. SONI(14273) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Opponent(s) No. 2,3,4,5,6,7
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CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE
SUNITA AGARWAL
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY
Date : 17/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)
1. This is a wholly misconceived petition filed in the nature of Public Interest Litigation by the persons who claim to be a lawyer by profession. The petitioner no. 2 claims to be the resident of District: Surat and a practicing lawyer. The statements in the paragraph nos. 2 and 3 of the petition read as under:-
"2. That the Petitioners are engaged in social services and acting as a whistleblower. The petitioners are Jain by birth and professes Jain Svetambara Sect. The petitioners have not filed any other public interest petition.
3. That the Petitioner no. 2 has been living at his house for the last 30nyears but the petitioner is originally a Gujarati and also a resident of Surat Page 1 of 5 Uploaded by VARSHA DESAI(HC01393) on Tue Jul 22 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 22 21:26:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/WPPIL/31/2025 ORDER DATED: 17/07/2025 undefined District. When he went to his native place during summer vacation, the Petitioner got the information that some anti-social elements had attacked the Pavagadh Tirtha in the neighboring Panchamahal district. This saddened and disturbed him and he decided to take appropriate legal action for the same. The petitioner being a paid lawyer himself, decided to initiate legal action against those anti-social elements."
2. From the averments made in the paragraph no. 3 of the writ petition, it is evident that the present petition has been filed on some information received by the petitioner about some activities of few anti-social elements who have attacked a Tirth known as Pavagadh Tirth in the neighbouring Panchmahal District. The averments made in the writ petition are about the archaeological and historical importance of the temple premises and the prayer is to issue directions to the State authorities to take appropriate steps to conserve and preserve the demolished idols and reinstall new idols by undertaking religious process.
3. To substantiate the submissions made in the writ petition, various photographs have been appended from Page Nos. '50 to 59' and a legal notice sent through an advocate namely Kapil A. Rathor to the Trust namely Shree Kalika Page 2 of 5 Uploaded by VARSHA DESAI(HC01393) on Tue Jul 22 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 22 21:26:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/WPPIL/31/2025 ORDER DATED: 17/07/2025 undefined Mataji Mandir Trust and the State Authorities is appended at page no. '60' of the paper-book.
4. From the averments made in the writ petition, it is more than evident that the assertions are based on the information received by the petitioner no. 2 who is otherwise the resident of the District Surat. The petitioner no. 1, however, is a resident of District Pune in the State of Maharashtra.
5. It may not be out of place to mention here that even as per the statement in the writ petition, the alleged incident had occurred on 16.06.2024 and the paragraph no. 3 of the writ petition, it is stated that the petitioner no. 2 came to know about the same when he visited his native place District Surat during summer vacation.
6. The present petition has been presented on 27.02.2025 and was dismissed for non-prosecution vide order dated 01.04.2025 for non-removal of Office Objections. On a restoration application, it was restored on 01.07.2025 while recalling the order dated 01.04.2025 and was registered on 07.07.2025. It is contended that the Page 3 of 5 Uploaded by VARSHA DESAI(HC01393) on Tue Jul 22 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 22 21:26:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/WPPIL/31/2025 ORDER DATED: 17/07/2025 undefined petitioners kept on approaching the administrative authorities, to take appropriate action, but nothing has been done and hence this writ petition.
7. Be that as it may, for any dispute pertaining to any misappropriation or mismanagement of the Trust property by the respondent Trust namely Shree Kalika Mataji Mandir Trust as agitated in the writ petition and to whom the legal notice send through an advocate, the appropriate remedy for the petitioner, who claim to be the devotees of the temple, is approach the competent authority namely the Office of the Charity Commissioner or the Civil Court. With regard to the prayers made by the petitioner that some anti-social elements have attacked the temple and damaged the idols, it is open for the petitioners to take recourse to the legal remedy available to them.
8. In any case, the present petition, filed in the nature of Public Interest Litigation cannot be entertained on the assertions made in the writ petition which are pertaining to an incident occurred on 16.06.2024 in District Panchmahal, inasmuch as, the entire writ petition is Page 4 of 5 Uploaded by VARSHA DESAI(HC01393) on Tue Jul 22 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 22 21:26:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/WPPIL/31/2025 ORDER DATED: 17/07/2025 undefined based on vague assertion and hearsay statement of the petitioner.
9. The photographs appended with the writ petition cannot be made basis for initiating inquiry in the present litigation in the nature of Public Interest Litigation. The present petition, is, thus, liable to be dismissed as misconceived.
(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ ) (D.N.RAY,J) VARSHA DESAI Page 5 of 5 Uploaded by VARSHA DESAI(HC01393) on Tue Jul 22 2025 Downloaded on : Tue Jul 22 21:26:21 IST 2025