Gujarat High Court
Pradhanji Shankarji Thakor vs State Of Gujarat on 13 February, 2024
Author: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
Bench: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/21384/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/02/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 21384 of 2023
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PRADHANJI SHANKARJI THAKOR
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR AR THACKER(888) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
SHIVANG A THACKER(7424) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MS SHRUTI PATHAK, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI
Date : 13/02/2024
ORAL ORDER
1. By way of present petition, the petitioner herein has
prayed for the following reliefs:
(A) To issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of
mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing
the respondent no.1 to decide the appeal filed by the petitioner on
3.10.2022 at Annexure - K against order dated 14.9.2022 passed by
respondent no.2 at Annexure - J keeping in mind the directions issued
by this Hon'ble Court in Para - 7 of judgment and order dated 1.4.2022
passed in SCA No.4849 of 2021 at Annexure - I within 30 days from the
date of receipt of the order.
(B) The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other
appropriate relief as the nature and circumstances of the case may
require."
2. Heard Mr. Shivang A. Thacker, learned advocate
appearing for the petitioner and Ms. Shruti Pathak, learned
AGP appearing for the respondents.
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/21384/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/02/2024
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3. The petitioner herein is working in the office of the Range
Forest Officer, Bhachau, District : Kutch as Watchmen. The role
and duty of the petitioner is to protect the Forest and the
Cultivation made by the Forest Department, Plants and Trees
from the persons trying to theft and the animals in the forest
area from and prevent other illegal activities in the forest area.
In view of the nature of duties of the petitioner, the petitioner
herein applied for issuance of arms license for self defense by
preferring an application dated 20.08.2018 before the
respondent No.2, which came to be rejected by order dated
24.10.2019 on the ground that the petitioner is working as a
Watchman, Class - IV employee and that, no incident has been
recorded regarding attack on the petitioner ever been made in
the past. A copy of the order dated 24.10.2019 is duly
produced at Annexure - G, page 47.
3.1 Being aggrieved by the said order dated 24.10.2019
rejecting the application, the petitioner herein has preferred an
appeal being Appeal No.320 of 2019 before the respondent
No.1 on 15.11.2019. The said appeal came to be rejected by
order dated 16.01.2021.
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/21384/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/02/2024
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3.2 Being aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner herein
has preferred Special Civil Application No.4849 of 2021 before
this Court, which came to be allowed by this Court by order
dated 01.04.2022 whereby, the respondents were directed to
decide the application of the petitioner afresh after taking into
consideration all the documents produced by the petitioner
along with his application and that, the said application be
considered under the provisions of the Arms Act as
expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of eight
weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of that order after
granting reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
3.3 Pursuant to the order passed by this Court dated
01.04.2022, the Collector, Kutch called for report and rejected
the application of the petitioner by order dated 14.09.2022 on
the same ground of petitioner being Class - IV employee and
that, negative reports/opinions are provided, in-spite of the
fact that earlier the Superintendent of Police, Gandhidham, had
provided positive report/opinion.
3.4 Being aggrieved by the said order dated 14.09.2022, the
petitioner herein preferred an appeal on 03.10.2022 before the
respondent No.1 duly produced at Annexure- K, page 60. The
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/21384/2023 ORDER DATED: 13/02/2024
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said appeal remains undecided/unadjudicated and therefore,
the petitioner, by communications dated 25.09.2023 and
09.11.2023, requested the respondent No.1 to decide the said
appeal. However, till date, the said appeal is not decided by
the respondent authority. Being aggrieved by the same, the
petitioner is constrained to approach this Court seeking the
reliefs as referred above.
4. In view of the aforesaid, in the facts of the present case,
the appeal filed by the petitioner on 03.10.2022 pending
before the respondent No.1, be decided taking into
consideration the directions issued by this Court in the order
dated 01.04.2022 passed in Special Civil Application No.4849
of 2021, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt
of the order.
5. With the aforesaid directions, the present petition stands
disposed of.
(VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI,J)
NEHA
