Feroze sells house to Firoz; matter in Gujarat HC

source:-https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

AHMEDABAD: The Shakespearean saying ‘What’s in a name?’ would rather not apply in this case of property sale which hinges entirely on the name alone. A Parsi man, Feroze Falibhai Contractor, has been accused of projecting himself as a Muslim by suppressing his Parsi religious identity in selling his property to a Muslim, Firoz Patel. The property is in Samarpan Cooperative Housing Society on Vasna road in Vadodara, an area governed by the Disturbed Areas Act.
The Persian name Feroze means victorious, winner or successful. The name Firoz which means a gift is common among the Muslims.

In an FIR filed with the JP Nagar police station in August, Samarpan society’s chairman, Manish Malhotra, has alleged that Contractor took disadvantage of his name Feroze, to paint his identity as a Muslim and escape detailed a scrutiny under the Disturbed Areas Act (DAA).
Under the DAA, sale of property to a person of different religion warrants a detailed scrutiny by the concerned authority (deputy collector of the district in this case) ahead of permission for sale. Contractor obtained permission for sale of his property to a Muslim man within 15 days.

Following the FIR, Contractor was booked for violation of the DAA, forgery, supplying false information to authorities and for criminal breach of trust. Contractor, in turn, knocked on the Gujarat high court’s door last month to get the FIR quashed.
In his petition, Contractor has stated that according to his birth certificate, he belongs to the Parsi community. “The petitioner has not created any impression upon any officials in the deputy collector office that he is from Muslim community. Thus, the petitioner has not committed any fraud or mischief while obtaining the necessary permission from the authority,” his petition reads.
In his reply to Contractor’s petition, complainant Malhotra said that Contractor had purchased the same property five years ago from a Hindu. Being a Parsi, Contractor had to wait for more than two years to obtain permission under the DAA, Malhotra submitted.
Feroze says he never created the impression that he is Muslim
This time, he furnished a false address of Tandalja, a Muslim-dominated locality, to give a false impression that he is a Muslim. Else, how could he get permission in 15 days,” Samarpan society’s chairman, Manish Malhotra questioned.
The society’s chairman further alleged Feroze Falibhai Contractor’s connivance with government officials. Malhotra also told the HC that Contractor had promised the housing society that he would take NOC from it before selling the property to any Muslim, but he failed to inform the society.
In his reply to Malhotra’s claims, Contractor reiterated in an affidavit that he had never created the impression before the officials that he belonged to Muslim community. The high court is likely to hear this issue on Wednesday.