Can't Disturb Communal Harmony: Rajasthan HC Quashes Notification Creating Village Against Guidelines Barring Names Based On Caste, Religion

The  Rajasthan High Court has set aside a State notification creating a new revenue village named “Gogaji ki Jaal” in Barmer district, for violating 2009 State guidelines as per which villages could not be named in the name of some person, caste, sub-caste or religion.

Along with this notification, the Court also set aside all similar notifications.

Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur in his order said, "Perusal of amended Clause 4 clearly shows that the State Government has modified the earlier clause 4 of the circular dated 20.08.2009 vide its circular dated 17.02.2025 and Gram Panchayats have now been directed to get a resolution passed by majority in the Gram Sabha and that proposal is required to be sent to the State Government. A bare reading of the provision stated above shows that a newly created village should not be named after any person, caste, sub-caste or religion and in the present batch of writ petition it is named after a person, caste and sub-caste. “Gogaji” is a local deity worshiped by a particular community".

"In the considered opinion of this Court, there is a purpose and intention to incorporate clause 4 in the terms that no particular person, caste, sub-caste or religion should be given undue advantage disturbing the communal harmony in the society," the court added. 

The Court was hearing a bunch of petitions and one of those petitions sought quashing of a January 20, 2025 notification by the State Government that notified creation of a new revenue village “Gogaji ki Jaal” in Barmer. Other petitions also challenged similar notifications and proposals of creating new villages.

It was the case of the petitioners that although the State Government had the power to create new villages under Section 16 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (the “Act”), the circular dated 20/08/2009 issued certain guidelines. As per Clause 4 of these guidelines, villages could not be named in the name of some person, caste, sub-caste or religion, and hence, these notifications and proposals were in utter violation of Clause 4.

After considering the contentions, the Court perused the Act as well as the guidelines and held that,

Highlighting the fact that “Gogaji” was a local deity worshiped by a particular community, the Court held that the notification issued by the State was in violation of Clause 4 of the guidelines, and similarly all alike notifications which were a subject matter of other writ petitions were also violative of Clause 4.

Accordingly, the petitions were disposed of and the January 20 notification issued by the state government along with all other similar such notifications were quashed and set aside.The State was directed to initiate fresh process of creation of new revenue villages while adhering to the guidelines.

"The directions issued hereinabove shall also be made applicable for the cases in which the notification for creation of new villages has not been issued and the same are in process. The order passed by this Court will be made applicable only qua the petitioners, who have approached this Court," the court added. 

Case Title: Moola Ram v State of Rajasthan & Ors, and other connected petitions

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 79

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