The Gujarat High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the repeated disputes surrounding Non-Agricultural (NA) permissions, observing that citizens continue to face unnecessary harassment despite the legal position having been settled through several judgments.

A bench of Justice Niral R. Mehta made the observations on September 24 while hearing a petition filed by Satvara Parsottam Madhavji and others. The court noted that disputes relating to NA approvals have continued to reach the High Court despite judgments between 2011 and 2026 clarifying the applicable legal position.

Court Says Repeated NA Disputes Waste Judicial Time

The High Court observed that many of these disputes could have been avoided if revenue officials were properly sensitised to the law laid down by the court.

According to the court, repeated litigation not only causes inconvenience and harassment to citizens but also consumes valuable judicial time and results in government expenditure on defending such cases.

The court also referred to a 2025 judgment in which directions had been issued to organise training, workshops and guidance programmes for revenue officials and to fix accountability wherever necessary.

However, the bench noted that there appeared to have been no significant change in the situation and observed that the objective of the earlier judgment had not been properly implemented.

Jayanti Ravi Says Discussions Underway

During the hearing, Dr Jayanti S. Ravi, Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department, submitted a letter stating that the concerns raised by the High Court regarding NA applications had been taken seriously.

The letter informed the court that discussions were currently underway to find a solution to the issues.

The High Court has granted the authorities some time to work towards an effective and permanent resolution.

Court Questions Reliance On Government Resolution

The court also took note of the response given by the Jamnagar Collector when asked to explain the administration's position in the case.

The bench observed that the Collector had relied on a government resolution instead of the legal principles laid down by the High Court.

The court remarked that this appeared to indicate that officials were placing greater reliance on government resolutions while remaining indifferent to the law declared by the court.

Matter To Be Heard Again On October 5

The High Court has listed the matter for further hearing on October 5, 2026.

On that date, the revenue authorities have been directed to inform the court about the progress of the ongoing deliberations and place on record all government resolutions currently in force concerning NA permissions.