Madras High Court
J.Amala Pushpam Selvarani vs The District Collector on 9 November, 2023
Author: M.Sundar
Bench: M.Sundar
W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 09.11.2023
Coram
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR
and
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R.SAKTHIVEL
W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
and
W.M.P(MD)Nos.23161 & 23162 of 2023
J.Amala Pushpam Selvarani .. Petitioner
vs
1.The District Collector,
Thoothukudi District,
Thoothukudi.
2.The Tahsildar,
Srivaikundam Taluk,
Srivaikundam,
Thoothukudi District.
3.The Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats),
Karunkulam Panchayat Union @ Seithunganallur,
Thoothukudi District – 628 809.
4.The Deputy Development Officer (Village Panchayats),
Karunkulam Panchayat Union @ Seithunganallur,
Thoothukudi District – 628 809.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
1/9
W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
5.Village Administrative Officer,
Manakkarai Village,
Srivaikundam Taluk,
Thoothukudi District – 628 252.
6.Naanalkadu Panchayat,
Represented by its President,
Karunkulam Panchayat Union,
Srivaikundam Taluk,
Thoothukudi District.
7.J.Jebakumar .. Respondents
Prayer:- Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
praying for issuance of a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for
the records relating to the proceedings Na.Ka.A5/6833/2022 dated
20.12.2022 issued by the second respondent and quash the same and
consequently direct the respondents 1 to 6 to remove the encroachment
made by the seventh respondent on the Village Public Place i.e., 2000
sq. ft including the house (Door No.4/143) constructed on the
encroached land in Survey No.499/1AE, Sivasubramaniapuram,
Manakkarai Village, Naanalkadu Village Panchayat, Karunkulam
Panchayat Union, Srivaikundam Taluk, Thoothukudi District within a
time limit to be fixed by this Court.
For Petitioner : Mr.A.Thirumurthy
For Respondent Nos.1 to 5 : Mr.P.Thilak Kumar
Government Pleader
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
2/9
W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
ORDER
[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J.] This order will now draw the curtains on the captioned main Writ Petition and the captioned 'two Writ Miscellaneous Petitions' (hereinafter 'WMPs' for the sake of brevity) thereat.
2.Short facts are that the captioned matter has been filed as a 'Public Interest Litigation' (hereinafter 'PIL' for the sake of brevity); that it is the case of the PIL petitioner that sixth respondent has encroached upon 'land comprised in Survey No.499/1AE in Sivasubramaniapuram, Manakkarai Village Panchayat, Karunkulam Panchayat Union, Srivaikundam Taluk, Thoothukudi District' [hereinafter 'said land' for the sake of convenience and clarity]; that it is the further case of the PIL petitioner that sixth respondent has constructed a house; that the writ petitioner filed an earlier Writ Petition in this regard in this Bench vide 'W.P(MD)No.23351 of 2022 together with W.M.P(MD)No.17430 of 2022 thereat' [hereinafter 'I WP' for the sake of convenience and clarity]; that I WP came to be disposed of by a Coordinate Hon'ble https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 3/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023 Division Bench in and by an order dated 18.10.2022 inter alia saying that the PIL petitioner's representation dated 22.07.2022 shall be considered on merits and in accordance with law; that 22.07.2022 representation of the PIL petitioner was regarding alleged encroachment in said land and a plea for removal of alleged encroachment; that pursuant to this order in I WP, second respondent before us i.e., jurisdictional Tahsildar conducted an enquiry and passed 'an order dated 20.12.2022 bearing reference Na.Ka.No.A5/6833/2022' [hereinafter 'impugned order' for the sake of brevity and clarity] inter alia concluding that construction put up by sixth respondent has not been put up in Government land and that it has been put up in patta land. To be noted, second respondent had concluded that there is no ground for taking any proceedings under 'the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905 [Act 3 of 1905]' [hereinafter 'said Act' for the sake of convenience and clarity]; that inter alia assailing the impugned order, captioned PIL has been filed.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 4/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
3.Mr.A.Thirumurthy, learned counsel on record for PIL petitioner, is before us. Learned counsel adverting to the aforesaid facts submitted that the impugned order is erroneous and it is liable to be interfered with. We make it clear that we are not expressing any view or opinion on this submission, as we are now going to relegate the PIL petitioner to statutory appeal remedy provided under said Act.
4.Section 10 of the said Act provides for an appeal to the first respondent. To be noted, Section 10 of the said Act also says that the appeal will lie to such officer as may be specified by the State Government (if there is such a specification by State Government). Nonetheless, statutory appeal under said Act qua impugned order of the second respondent is available and Appellate Authority would be the first respondent or such officer as may be specified by the State Government in this regard. We find that the grounds on which the impugned order is assailed turns largely on facts. The bone of contention is whether said land is Government land or patta land. We also find that under said Act it is not just one appeal, but multiple tiers have been provided as a further revision has also been provided. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 5/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023
5.We are acutely conscious that the captioned matter is being disposed of in the Admission Board and therefore though obvious we make it clear that all the rights and contentions of seventh respondent also are preserved for contesting the matter before the Appellate Authority and or with regard to any other proceedings which are collateral or connected.
6.Captioned WP is disposed of as closed, albeit preserving all the rights and contentions of the PIL petitioner to seek appeal remedy under Section 10 of the said Act. If the writ petitioner chooses to seek appeal remedy, the Appellate Authority under Section 10 of the said Act shall consider the matter on its own merits and in accordance with law untrammelled by this order, which is for the limited purpose of closure of captioned Writ Petition which has been filed as a PIL.
7.At this juncture, learned counsel for petitioner requested for return of original impugned order for pursuing appeal remedy. The https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 6/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023 original impugned order filed along with captioned Writ Petition shall be returned by the Registry to the learned counsel on record for PIL petitioner under due acknowledgment forthwith to enable the PIL petitioner to prefer an appeal and seek statutory appeal remedy under said Act before the first respondent/Appellate Authority if so advised and if so desired.
8.Captioned WP is disposed of as closed, albeit with aforementioned observations and preservation of rights. Consequently, captioned WMPs are also disposed of as closed. There shall be no order as to costs.
(M.S.,J.) (R.S.V.,J.) 09.11.2023 Index : Yes/No Neutral Citation : Yes/No ps https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 7/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023 To
1.The District Collector, Thoothukudi District, Thoothukudi.
2.The Tahsildar, Srivaikundam Taluk, Srivaikundam, Thoothukudi District.
3.The Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats), Karunkulam Panchayat Union @ Seithunganallur, Thoothukudi District – 628 809.
4.The Deputy Development Officer (Village Panchayats), Karunkulam Panchayat Union @ Seithunganallur, Thoothukudi District – 628 809.
5.Village Administrative Officer, Manakkarai Village, Srivaikundam Taluk, Thoothukudi District – 628 252.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 8/9 W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023 M.SUNDAR, J., and R.SAKTHIVEL, J., ps W.P(MD)No.26967 of 2023 09.11.2023 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis 9/9