The Gujarat High Court has disposed the case of ‘ex-communication’ of four families of the Sathwara (Kadia) community from Mehsana district. Justice R R Tripathi disposed of the matter recently after the respondent community leaders took an undertaking that the petitioners will be personally invited to all community functions and accorded the same treatment as other community members.

According to Dr R R Shukla, Chairman of the Ahmedabad-based NGO, Yogkshem Foundation that had helped the petitioners (13 members of four families) take the matter to the High Court, the issue dates back to a case in the 1980s.

A criminal court had convicted certain members of the Sathwara community on the basis of a complaint by a member of one of the petitioner families of Linch village in Mehsana district.

“Subsequently, those convicted by the court took charge of the ‘Shri Dandhavya Pargana Sathwara, Kadia Kelavani Mandal’, which is the Sathwara Community organisation. They started boycotting the petitioner families by discontinuing social relations with them,” said Dr Shukla.

He added: “Following this, the petitioner families could not marry off their sons and daughters. The elder daughter of one of the petitioners is 28 years of age and unmarried. This is in stark contrast to the average age in the community to marry off a girl — 19 years. So, they moved court to cancel their ex-communication by the community leaders.”

Dharmesh Bhatt, the counsel of the petitioners, said: “The respondents filed an undertaking in the court stating that they will send personal invitation to all the petitioners for all community functions. They also stated that the petitioners would be accorded similar treatment given to other members of the community. Following this, the court disposed the petition.”