PIL challenging renaming of Ahmednagar filed in HC

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court challenging the renaming of Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar without inviting ‘objections and suggestions’ from the public, as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Act.

In connection with the petition, a panel comprising Justice Mangesh Patil and Justice Prafulla Khubalkar on Wednesday directed notices to be issued to the Central and the State Governments, the Ahmednagar Municipal Commissioner and Administrator, and the Nashik Divisional Commissioner. The hearing on this petition is scheduled to take place after four weeks.

What is the Petition?

Former Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University (Nanded) Dr. Sarjerao Nimse, Dr. Pushkar Sohani, and architect Harshad Shaikh, filed the petition through Adv. Taher Ali Qadri. The PIL stated while the Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation body was not in existence, the administrator unilaterally passed a resolution to rename ‘Ahmednagar’ as ‘Ahilyanagar’ and sent the proposal to the State Government on March 1, 2024. The cabinet approved the resolution on March 13, 2024, and forwarded it to the Central Government for approval.

However, before the Central Government could approve the proposal, the petition was filed in the High Court’s Aurangabad Bench in June 2024. While the petition was still pending, the Central Government approved the renaming on October 1, 2024. Consequently, the names of Ahmednagar district, tehsil, sub-division, and village were officially changed to ‘Ahilyanagar’.

What is the Objection?

Before the renaming, the State Government and Municipal Corporation needed to invite objections and suggestions from the public as per Section 4(4) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Act. However, instead of following the due legal process, the government issued the first notification on October 4, 2024, and the second notification on October 8, 2024, just before the state assembly elections.

Since the renaming proposal submitted by the administrator was illegal due to the lack of a proper legal procedure, the petition demands that it should be cancelled. Similarly, the notifications issued by the State Government on October 4 and October 8, 2024, should also be revoked. The petition has been amended accordingly to include these requests. Senior Advocate Rajendra S. Deshmukh is representing the petitioners in the case.

Government followed due process

The petitions regarding the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad were dismissed by the principal bench of the Bombay High Court. Since the Ahmednagar petition is based on similar grounds, it is not admissible. The government followed the due process while renaming Ahmednagar argued the Chief Government Pleader Amarjeetsinh Girase.