Sbw 38-aswp-5567-2026.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO.5567 OF 2026 Bhausaheb Govindrao Jore … Petitioner V/s. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. … Respondents WITH WRIT PETITION NO.5221 OF 2026 Ashok Dashrath Godhade & Ors. … Petitioners V/s. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. … Respondents Mr. Ramchandra Wagh i/by Mr. Narayan Rokade for the Petitioners. Smt. R.A. Salunkhe, AGP, for the Respondent-State. CORAM : A. S. GADKARI AND KAMAL KHATA, JJ. DATE : 25th August, 2026. P.C.:- 1) By this Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Petitioners seek quashing of Communication dated 26th June, 2023 issued by the Respondent No.2. 2) Heard Mr. Wagh, learned Advocate for the Petitioners and Smt. 1/3 SANDHYA BHAGU WADHWA Digitally signed by SANDHYA BHAGU WADHWA Date: 2026.08.29 14:04:33 +0530 Sbw 38-aswp-5567-2026.doc Salunkhe, learned AGP, for the Respondent-State. Perused record. 3) Perusal of record indicates that, by the impugned communication dated 26th June, 2026, the Respondent No.2 has directed the concerned Gram Panchayat to handover the land mentioned therein to the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company for erecting Solar Panels for providing electricity as a part of the project undertaken by the Government of Maharashtra for the benefit of the people at large. The Petitioner in Petition No.5567 of 2026 is the Surpanch of Village Shirsane. It is the contention of the Petitioner that, for allotment of the said land to the Electricity Company, the consent of the concerned Gram Panchayat is not obtained by the Respondent No.2 and therefore the said transfer is bad in law. 4) As far as, the Petitioners in Writ Petition No. 5221 of 2026 are concerned, they have come up with a very bold case contending that, they are encroachers on the said Gairan/Gurcharan land belonging to Government and their illegal occupation has been regularized by the Competent Authority. 5) The contention of Petitioners in Writ Petition No.5221 of 2026 is only to be stated to be rejected as there is no iota of evidence or any document, even remotely indicating that the illegal occupation on the said Gairan/Gurcharan land, belonging to Government, is regularized by any Revenue Authority. 2/3 Sbw 38-aswp-5567-2026.doc 6) Shri Anil R. Chavan, Tahsildar, Chandwad, District Nashik, has filed a detailed Affidavit dated 30th July, 2026, in para No.5 thereof he has stated that, the primary contention of the Petitioner that, the impugned Order dated 26th June, 2023, is invalid because prior permission or a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was not obtained from the concerned Gram Panchayat, Shirsane, is completely baseless and legally untenable. It is stated that, the Solar Power Project Scheme is being implemented under the ‘Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0’ and the Government of Maharashtra has explicitly dispensed with the requirement of obtaining an NOC from the local Gram Panchayat for projects under this specific Scheme. 7) In view thereof, we find that there is no substance in the contentions raised by the Petitioners in Writ Petition No.5567 of 2026 and Writ Petition No.5221 of 2026. 8) According to us, there is no merit in both the Petitions and are accordingly dismissed. (KAMAL KHATA, J.) (A.S. GADKARI, J.) 3/3