On Thursday, Yusuf Pathan, a former Indian cricketer and current Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, filed a petition with the Gujarat High Court challenging a notice from the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) accusing him of land encroachment.

The notice, issued on June 6, instructed Pathan to remove encroachments from a VMC-owned plot in Tandalja within 15 days.

Pathan explained to the court that he had applied for the land in 2012, and the corporation had introduced a different plan in 2014.

“I was recently elected in the Lok Sabha elections, & efforts are being made to harass me because I was elected from a different party. Nothing was done for the past 10 years, & suddenly, after the election results, a notice was sent on June 6. If I don’t submit to their demands, they will come with a bulldozer,” his counsel told the court.

Yusuf Pathan, former Indian cricketer and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, informed the Gujarat High Court that the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) had agreed to allot land to him and his brother, asserting that "the state has no business to interfere."

In response to Pathan’s application, the Gujarat High Court has requested details from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled VMC regarding the issue.

The VMC notice, issued on June 6, alleged that Pathan had established a stable on a municipal plot in Tandalja. This prompted former BJP corporator Vijay Pawar to push for reclaiming the plot. The proposal was approved in a general meeting of the municipal body, leading Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Dilip Rana to issue the notice to Pathan.

Speaking to the media, former BJP corporator Vijay Pawar explained that Yusuf Pathan had sought a residential plot in Tandalja, owned by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), because his house, under construction at the time, was adjacent to that plot.

Pathan offered nearly ₹57,000 per square meter for the land. Although the VMC approved the proposal, Pawar noted that the state government, which has the final authority in such matters, did not grant approval.

Additionally, Nitin Dongha, a BJP councillor from Ward No. 10, has called for a land-grabbing complaint to be filed against Pathan, submitting a letter to the municipal commissioner to that effect.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for June 21.