Former Indian cricketer and current Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan finds himself in deep legal and financial trouble over a long-running land dispute in Vadodara. The Gujarat High Court recently issued a stern warning to Pathan regarding his continued, unauthorized occupation of a public plot, while the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) initiated a public auction process for the property.
The dispute involves a prime 978-square-meter residential plot (Plot No. 90) located in the Tandalja area of Vadodara, directly adjacent to Pathan’s family residence. The controversy traces back to 2012 when Pathan sought a 99-year lease on the land under a state policy intended for international sportspersons. Although the VMC standing committee initially approved the allotment at a lower rate, the state government’s Urban Development Department strictly rejected the proposal in June 2014, ruling that municipal land could not be transferred without public bidding.
Despite the formal rejection, the plot remained fenced and under Pathan’s possession without any financial payment. The issue resurfaced aggressively in June 2024 after Pathan was elected as a TMC Lok Sabha MP, prompting the BJP-controlled VMC to issue an encroachment notice. After a single-judge bench categorized him as an “encroacher” in 2025, Pathan challenged the decision before a division bench.
In June 2026, a division bench led by Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal granted Pathan a final four-week window to seek relief under the state’s sportsperson policy but strongly warned that any further delays would attract heavily punitive, market-rate damages for his unauthorized occupation spanning since 2014.
Simultaneously, the VMC Standing Committee approved a fresh valuation of the plot at ₹2.10 lakh per square meter, bringing the land’s total asset value to roughly ₹20.5 crore—nearly three times the original 2012 proposed allotment price. While the VMC plans to put the plot up for public auction by July, local activist groups like the Vishvamitri Bachao Samiti have demanded that the civic body put the auction on hold until it recovers over 14 years of accrued commercial rent penalties from the cricketer.
