India, Sept. 12 -- The Gujarat high court has rejected former cricketer and Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan's petition challenging the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) order to remove him from a 978-metre plot next to his house in the city, observing that celebrities have a higher bar of accountability and granting them leniency would send a wrong message.

The verdict was delivered on August 21, but the order was uploaded to the court's website only on September 2.

An official of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) stated on Friday that the corporation has initiated the process to reclaim the plot that was in Yusuf Pathan's possession.

"Celebrities serve as social role models and their accountability is greater not lesser. ...