Om Prakash Khatri vs State Of Rajasthan
2022 Latest Caselaw 8897 Raj

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR

D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10080/2021

Om Prakash Khatri S/o Late Shri K.L. Khatri, Aged About 75 Years, Senior Citizen Of Basant Vihar, North Sunderwas, Airport Road, Udaipur, Rajasthan-313001.

----Petitioner Versus

1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Chief Secretary, Government Of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

2. The Principal Secretary Revenue, Government Of Rajasthan Secretariat Jaipur, 302005, Raj.

3. Deputy Secretary Revenue, Government Of Rajasthan, Government Secretariat

4. The Divisional Commissioner, Saheli Marg, Panchwati, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001.

5. The Collector/district Magistrate, Collectorate Road, Near Delhi Gate, Shakti Nagar, Udaipur Rajasthan 313001.

6. The Sub Divisional Officer, Sarada District Udaipur.

7. The Tehsildar, Sarada Udaipur.

8. Minstry Of Environment, Forest And Climate Change, Union Of India, Indira Paryayavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh Road, Aliganj, New Delhi 110003

9. The Principal Secretary, Forest, Environment, Government Of Rajasthan, Secretariat Jaipur, 302005, Raj.

10. Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, Through Its Chairperson/ Managing Director, 4 Jhalana Institutional Area, Dungri, Jaipur.

11. Digvijay Singh S/o Chandra Singh Rajput, 4 Keerti Nagar, New Sanganer Road, Saudala Road, Jaipur

12. Smt. Indira Singh S/o Digvijay Singh Rajput, 4 Keerti Nagar, New Sanganer Road, Saudala Road, Jaipur

13. Mr. Anurag Kulwal S/o Rk Kulwal, 2, Shivaji Nagar, Civil Lines, Jaipur.

----Respondents

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Simil Purohit, thorugh VC Ms. Swapnil Khatri, through VC Mr. Shridhar Mehta For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sandeep Shah, Sr. Advocate-cum-

AAG assisted by Mr. Nishant Bapna

(2 of 4) [CW-10080/2021]

Mr. Mukesh Rajpurohit, ASG Mr. S.S. Rathore Mr. Vivek Shrimali

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP MEHTA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP MATHUR

Order

07/07/2022

The matter comes up for orders on the interlocutory

application (No.01/2022) preferred by Ms. Swapnil Khatri,

Advocate for being substituted as a petitioner in place of Mr. Om

Prakash Khatri, the original petitioner (since deceased).

The prayer for impleadment is seriously opposed by Mr. Vivek

Shrimali, Advocate. He placed reliance on Hon'ble the Supreme

Court's Judgment in the case of K. Kumara Gupta Vs. Sri

Markendaya And Sri Omkareswara Swamy Temple & Ors.

reported in (2022) 5 SCC 710, and urged that in a public

interest litigation, the legal heirs of the original petitioner cannot

prosecute the case merely by substitution in that capacity.

Mr. Simil Purohit, Advocate, and the applicant Ms. Swapnil

Khatri, Advocate, addressing the Court through video

conferencing, submitted that the writ petition involves a question

of tremendous public importance inasmuch as conservation and

preservation of Jaisamand Lake and the illegal construction

activities being taken on the Bhatwada island situated inside the

lake have been raised by the erstwhile writ petitioner Mr. Om

Prakash Khatri who was a public spirited person.

(3 of 4) [CW-10080/2021]

Mr. Vivek Shrimali, Advocate, urged that the writ petition was

not filed with bonafide objectives because there are more than

one commercial constructions on the disputed island and the

petitioner has targeted only the construction of the

building/complex undertaken by the respondents Nos.11, 12 and

13 and has not made any prayer regarding other similar

constructions.

We have heard and considered the submissions advanced at

bar and have gone through the material available on record.

At the outset, we may state that the original petitioner Mr.

Om Prakash Khatri (since deceased), made significant research

and procured large number of relevant documents while filing the

instant writ petition which involves a very important issue

regarding illegal construction activities on an island in the eco-

sensitive Jaisamand Lake. The matter had been finally heard by

this Court and the Judgment was reserved. However,

unfortunately, in the intervening period, the petitioner passed

away, whereupon the case had to be released. We feel that the

application for impleadment preferred by Ms. Swapnil Khatri,

daughter of original petitioner Om Prakash Khatri is lacking in

material particulars and thus, her impleadment in this case,

simply being the legal heir of the original petitioner, is not tenable.

However, at the same time, we are not persuaded to throw

out the petition simply on the ground that the original petitioner

does not survive. As we have observed above, the petition

(4 of 4) [CW-10080/2021]

involves questions of significant importance i.e. ecological &

environmental transgressions into Jaisamand, second largest

artificial fresh water lake in Asia. Thus, while turning down the

prayer of the applicant Ms. Swapnil Khatri, Advocate, to be

substituted as a petitioner in place of her father Mr. Om Prakash

Khatri, the original writ petitioner (since deceased), we hereby

direct that the petition shall now be continued with the title "In

Re Bhatwada Island Jaisamand Vs. State of Rajasthan &

Ors".

Learned counsel Mr. Simil Purohit, Ms. Swapnil Khatri and Mr.

Shridhar Mehta, are allowed to assist the Court as Amicus Curiae

in this case.

List on 30.08.2022.

(KULDEEP MATHUR),J (SANDEEP MEHTA),J

2-/Devesh/-

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