Gujarat High Court serve notices to buildings around the jail

A bench of the Gujarat high court ordered the state government to issue notices to all commercial and residential properties which are built within 220 yards radius of boundaries of the Bhavnagar district jail, citing security concerns. However, it gave exception to government offices and buildings of public utilities and asked the state government to file an action taken report by July 11, when the next hearing is adjourned.

The bench comprising chief justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and justice KM Thaker passed the important order while hearing the case of Patel Siddhi Vinayak Joint Ventures Limited. The petitioner had challenged the jail authorities’ decision to disallow construction of a building complex around the jail.

“The high court bench issued the order to the government to issue notices to the constructions which don’t have the No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the authorities,” said government pleader PK Jani.

Earlier, the bench had come down heavily on top jail officers for neglecting security concerns while issuing NOC to such buildings.