The Surat district collector sealed a property in the Salabatpura area of the old city, as its owner, a Hindu woman, had sold it to a Muslim woman in what the collector termed was a violation of the Disturbed Areas Act.
As per reports, the sale, which was in the process, was seen as violating Section 5 of the Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, popularly known as the Disturbed Areas Act.
What Is The Disturbed Areas Act?
Under the Disturbed Areas Act, the district Collector notifies a particular area of a city or town as ‘disturbed area’. This is generally on the basis of the history of communal riots in the area. Under the Act라이브 바카라 Section 5 (a) and (b), the person intending to sell the property has to apply to the Collector for sanction. The Collector holds a formal inquiry, hears various parties, and has the right to clear or reject the deal.
Following this notification, the transfer of immovable property in those areas requires express permission of the Collector. In the application, the seller has to attach an affidavit stating that he/she has sold the property of his/her free volition and that he/she has got a fair market price.Violation of the Act라이브 바카라 provisions invites imprisonment and fine.
According to the Gujarat government, the Act is aimed at checking communal polarisation in parts of the state. In 2020, the Gujarat government amended certain sections of the Act, giving the Collector more powers. This was following reports of anti-social elements allegedly bypassing the Collector and selling and buying properties in the “disturbed areas” by threatening people or luring them with high prices.
Before the amendments, the Collector would give permission for the transfer of property following an affidavit by the seller that he/she was selling the property voluntarily and at a fair value.
The amended Act gave the Collector more powers to ascertain if there was a likelihood of ‘polarisation’ or ‘improper clustering’ of people belonging to a particular community through the sale, disturbing the ‘demographic equilibrium’ of an area. It also gave the state government authority to review and probe a collector라이브 바카라 decision even if there was no appeal filed against it.
