The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to the state government and Ujjain administration officials over the alleged sale of government lands near the famous Mahakal temple to a company linked to Ujjain Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Chintamani Malviya.
“Notice will be issued to the respondents and the matter will come back within six weeks,” a division bench of Justices Subodh Abhyankar and Alok Awasthi said.
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The court also allowed the petitioner’s counsel to file an application for enforcement of the parties, including MLA Malviya, if he so desired.
The notice came in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) initiated by Congress member Rajendra Kawal, who alleged that 45,000 sq ft of government land, registered in the revenue records of 1950, was misrepresented as private property and was sold to Utopia Hotel and Resorts Private Limited on March 2, for $3.82 Crores. Malviya is listed as a partner in the company.
Kowal claimed that the actual value of the land was no less than $12 crore and that plans are afoot to build a five-star hotel at the site, which currently serves as a parking facility for the pilgrims of the Mahakal Temple.
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Kowal said the adjoining plots were declared government property by revenue authorities in November 2024. He had lodged complaints with the Chief Secretary, Lokayukta and Economic Offenses Wing before the PIL was filed on July 14.
The petition claimed that 1,877 hectares of land in Ujjain was registered as government property in 1950. It alleged that subsequent transfers of land to individuals were made without valid judicial or revenue orders, eventually leading to the sale to Utopia Hotel and Resorts in Ujjain.
The petitioner’s lawyer Jayesh Gurnani argued before the court that the case was about the rights of devotees. “The devotees will not benefit from the hotel. At present, the land is being used as a parking facility at Hariphatak for pilgrims.”
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Malviya insisted that the PIL was a “political conspiracy.” He told reporters, “The courts will decide on the matter. We bought the land and paid for it and did not do anything wrong.” Ujjain District Commissioner Ashish Singh did not respond to requests for comment.
