The Gujarat high court order paves the way for land acquisition to develop crucial sports infrastructure in Ahmedabad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2030.
Key Points
- The land was granted on conditions that it would not be used for commercial activity, unauthorised construction and would adhere strictly to permissions.
- The government argued the ashram expanded beyond its permitted boundaries with unauthorised construction.
- Asaram is currently serving a life sentence for rape convictions in separate cases.
The Gujarat high court on Thursday dismissed a plea by an ashram founded by self-styled godman Asaram in Ahmedabad, paving the way for land acquisition to develop sports infrastructure ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2030.
The HC dismissed the plea by Sant Shri Asharam Ashram against a government drive to free up a large land parcel in the Motera area of the city, not far from the Narendra Modi Stadium and the under-construction Sardar Patel Sports Complex.
Arguing against the plea, government pleader GH Virk told the single bench of Justice Vaibhavi Nanavati that the land, originally granted decades ago for limited religious use, had steadily expanded beyond its lawful boundaries.
The land was granted on conditions that it would not be used for commercial activity, unauthorised construction and would adhere strictly to permissions. Yet, inspections revealed extensive construction and occupation far exceeded what was ever allotted, he told the court.
The ashram was served several notices and hearings, and it cannot be allowed to expand through encroachment and then legitimised, the government said in its submission.
With Ahmedabad preparing for the Commonwealth Games 2030 and nurturing long-term Olympic aspirations, the state's effort to reclaim the land -- about 45,000 square metres -- gives a boost to its efforts to develop sporting facilities in the area, it said.
The HC then dismissed the plea filed by the ashram.
Asaram (84) was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013. In January 2023, a court in Gandhinagar also sentenced him to life imprisonment in another rape case.
The Gandhinagar court had convicted Asaram in a case registered in 2013 for raping a woman disciple, who hailed from Surat, on several occasions between 2001 and 2006 when she was living at his Motera ashram.
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