Yusuf Pathan An "Encroacher": Court Setback For Ex India Star In Land Dispute Case
Former India cricketer and Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan has landed himself in a legal trouble.
- Yusuf Pathan was declared an encroacher of a residential plot in Vadodara
- Gujarat High Court rejected Pathan's petition against Vadodara Municipal Corporation
- Pathan occupied the government-owned plot since 2012 despite rejection to buy it
Former India cricketer and Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan has landed himself in legal trouble. Pathan, who was a part of India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad, has been declared an "encroacher" of a residential plot in Vadodara. The decision came after the Gujarat High Court rejected a petition filed by the former Indian cricketer. The civic authorities have now also been directed to remove the encroachment. The judgment was passed by a single bench of Justice Mauna Bhatt after Pathan challenged the Vadodara Municipal Corporation's (VMC) notice issued last year.
The VMC had asked Pathan in 2024 to vacate the government-owned plot he had occupied since 2012. The former cricketer took the matter to the high court and has now suffered a setback.
Speaking about the case, it all began in 2012 when Pathan had approached the VMC seeking to purchase an open residential plot at the market price, adjacent to his bungalow in the Tandalja area of Vadodara. The former Kolkata Knight Riders batter had cited "security concerns for himself and his family as an international cricketer."
The VMC later evaluated the property and Pathan's request was rejected in 2014. Despite all this, Pathan continued to occupy the property. In 2024, when Pathan won the election from the Baharampur constituency in West Bengal, the matter resurfaced and he was issued a notice by the VMC to vacate the property.
In her statement, Justice Mauna Bhatt stated that just because of his celebrity status, Pathan cannot be shown any leniency. She also stated that granting any kind of leniency to Pathan will send a wrong message to the society.
"As a national representative and public figure, Pathan's responsibility to follow the law is greater. Celebrities, due to their fame and public presence, have a profound impact on public behaviour and societal values. Granting concessions to such individuals despite flouting the law sends a wrong message to society and undermines public trust in the judicial system," stated Justice Bhatt.
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Yusuf Pathan