Madhya Pradesh High Court restores ban on fishing in Teliya Talab citing religious sentiments

The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently restored the ban imposed on fishing in Mandsaur's Teliya Talab citing the religious sentiments of devotees who visit temples located on the banks of the talab [Dr. Dinesh Kumar Joshi v. The State of Madhya Pradesh]. .A division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Pranay Verma said that fishermen being deprived of their livelihood cannot be a reason to lift the fishing ban which was imposed by the Municipality on the ground of religious sentiments."The only reason assigned by the Collector (for lifting the ban) is that hundreds of fishermen are deprived of their livelihood. Certainly, this cannot be a reason to suspend the resolutions (imposing the ban)," the Court said.Local authorities are the ‘best persons’ to decide on imposition of ban due to public sentiments, the Court added.The ban on fishing activities in Teliya Talab was first imposed by the Municipal Council on religious grounds. The Collector in 2018 suspended the resolution passed by the municipality and lifted the ban.A public interest litigation was then filed by a doctor challenging the Collector's decision. The petitioner said there are various temples and ashrams located on the banks of the pond. It was also submitted that thousands of tourists visit it.The division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Pranay Verma, after looking into the provisions of MP Municipalities Act, said the resolution could have been stayed only if it were detrimental to the interests of the municipality or the public. “Admittedly, the fishing policy is not a statutory policy, but is merely a guideline. The local authorities are the best person to impose ban at the behest of the public sentiments,” said the Court..It further noted that the resolution could also have been suspended if it were causing or was likely to cause injury or annoyance to the public or lead to breach of peace.However, the Court found that the Collector had not recorded any such findings and the only reason assigned was that hundreds of fishermen were deprived of their livelihood.This cannot be a reason to lift the ban, the Court made it clear..Relying on a precedent, the Court also opined that the Collector could have passed the order of suspension only if the resolution were yet to be executed. On the contrary, the Court found the resolution had been in force for at least five years.“The Collector had no authority to call for a review or to stay the resolution and further direct grant of patta. It is also not known as to how the Collector has formed an opinion that the resolution of the Municipal Council is not in conformity with law or with the rules or bye-laws made thereunder,” it observed.The Court concluded that the Collector had acted beyond the powers and jurisdictions. Accordingly, the order passed in 2018 was set aside and also the appellate order passed by Additional Commissioner, Ujjain.Since the Court had stayed orders in January 2020, the Court said the State could not have affirmed them. Accordingly, the Court also set aside the order affirming the decision of Collector..Advocate Nitin Phadke represented the petitionerSenior Counsel Veer Kumar Jain with Advocate Divyansh Luniya represented the Municipal Council MandsaurAdditional Advocate General Anand Soni represented the State[Read Judgment]