Madras High Court
The Madras Vanaspati Ltd vs Nawab Khan Gulab Khan Reported In (1997) ... on 5 January, 2024
Author: S. Vaidyanathan
Bench: S. Vaidyanathan
W.P. No.11500 of 2020
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 05.01.2024
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. VAIDYANATHAN
and
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. RAJASEKAR
W.P. No.11500 of 2020 & W.M.P. No.14054 of 2020
The Madras Vanaspati Ltd.
by its Managing Director
A. Kodeeswaran
No.18, Power House Road
Villupuram Petitioner
v
1 The District Collector
Villupuram
2 The District Revenue Officer
Villupuram
3 The Commissioner
Villupuram Municipality
4 The Tahsildar
Villupuram
5 The Divisional Railway Manager
Southern Railway, Chennai Respondents
(R5 suo motu impleaded vide order dated
04.01.2024 made in W.P. No.11500 of 2020)
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a
writ of mandamus directing the respondents to remove the encroachments in the
entire Power House Road, Villupuram, and also direct the respondents to stop
further encroachments in the Power House Road, Villupuram.
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W.P. No.11500 of 2020
For petitioner Mr. N. Suresh
For RR 1, 2 and 4 Mr. A.Selvendran
Special Government Pleader
For R3 Mr. P. Srinivas
Standing Counsel
For R5 Mr. P.T. Ramkumar
Standing Counsel
-------
ORDER
(made by S. VAIDYANATHAN, J.)
This writ petition has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus directing the
respondents to remove the encroachments in the entire Power House Road,
Villupuram, and also to direct the respondents to stop further encroachments in
the Power House Road, Villupuram.
2 The facts leading to the filing of this writ petition could be succinctly
stated thus:
2.1 The petitioner is a company registered under the Companies Act and
it is a manufacturing unit of vanaspati which is marketed throughout India. The
petitioner company has its Registered Office at No.18, Power House Road,
Villupuram. Since the office of the Electricity Board is situated in that road which
is a very old one, the said road is named after the Power House.
2.2 According to the petitioner, encroachments on the Power House Road
started in a slow and phased manner and it has gone to a level of creating threat to
the pedestrians and vehicle users; some of the political parties have also
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encroached the said Power House Road; further, a temple also has been
constructed in the Power House Road, as a sequel to which, the 20 ft. road has
been narrowed down to 8 ft. and the authorities also do not take any step to restore
the width of the road.
3 The third respondent has filed a counter affidavit, wherein, it has
been stated that pursuant to the order dated 24.06.2021, inspection of the site in
question was conducted; on inspection, it was found that the Power House Road
runs from north to south from the Pondy Road on the north till the burial ground
on the south; the said road is bounded on the west by the Railway quarters and the
petitioner's land along with a few other patta lands; on the eastern site, it is bound
by the TANGEDCO lands and other patta lands; the said road is running in Ward
B, Block No.23, T.S. Nos.1 & 2, Block 22, T.S. Nos.2 & 42; the lands in Block
No.20, T.S. No.2/1 belong to the Railways and the same are used as a part of the
road; at the point where it branches from the Pondy Road, the width of the
municipal land under the road is only 4.9 metres and another width of 6.8 metres
is, in fact, the Railway land; the survey registers and the FMB map show that a
major portion of the Power House Road is only on the Railway lands and only a
smaller width is on the Municipal land; there is a Mariamman Temple in T.S.No.1,
Block No.23, which is partly on the Municipal lands; the said temple has been in
existence for more than 60 years and kumbhabhishekam for the said tenple was
performed in the year 1986; the said temple is indicated in the FMB sketch; on the
eastern side, the temple is on Mariamman Koil Street and on the west, it ends in
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the Railway land; between the Mariamman Temple and other structures on the
western side, a width of 15 ft. is available for the passage of traffic on the north-
south road; the structure of the temple and the Kumbhabhishekam invitation of the
year 1986 show that the temple has been in existence for 40 years; however, there
is no evidence to show that the temple has been in existence for 60 years as the
records relating to the same are not available in the survey registers; the Power
House Road is laid with cement concrete by the Municipality to its available width;
at the time of inspection by the third respondent, the residents of the area indicated
that the temple is very old and that they have been worshipping the said deity for
several generations; apart from the Mariamman Temple, there is no other
encroachment on the Power House Road in the Municipal lands and only in the
Railway lands, there are 34 tiled houses which are built giving sufficient
carriageway for the movement of vehicles.
4 The Tahsildar, Villupuram, the fourth respondent, also has addressed
a communication dated 28.06.2021 to the learned Government Pleader, enclosing
a copy of the rough sketch prepared by Sub Inspector (Land Survey), Municipal
Office, Villupuram. It is stated in the said report that an extent of 03143 sq. m.
belongs to the Southern Railway and that it has been used by the public as a road;
though, at the beginning of the Power House Road, there is a width of 11.7 m.
which is maintained till the Mariamman Temple, from the point of Mariamman
Temple, the width of the Power House Road has got shrunk to 4.9 m. which extent
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belongs to the Municipality and the remaining 6.8 m. [11.7 m. (-) 4.9 m.] belongs
to the Southern railway; a portion of the encroachment made by Mariamman
Temple is on the Town Road and the remaining encroachment is on the land of the
Southern Railway; there are about 34 tiled structures which are houses built on the
land of the Southern railway and no houses are built on the Town Municipal Road;
pursuant to the orders passed by this Court, eviction notice was also issued by the
competent authority and eviction process also will take place in accordance with
law.
5 Heard both sides and perused the materials available on record.
6 On a perusal of the rough sketch and other documents annexed to the
communication dated 28.06.2021 of the fourth respondent, it is crystal clear that
the temple in question has been constructed encroaching Mariamman Koil Street,
Power House Road and also the Railway lands. In other words, the Mariamman
Temple encroaches two roads and also the Railway lands. It is also seen that the
public, to go from one end of the Power House Road to the other end, are now
taking a circuitous route using the Railway land.
7 To appreciate the rank encroachment made by the temple, it will be
apposite to extract below the rough sketch enclosed with the aforesaid
communication of the Tahsildar:
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8 Since as per the fourth respondent, the Mariamman Temple has been
constructed encroaching even the Railway lands, we suo motu impleaded the
Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai, as the fifth respondent and informed
Mr.P.T. Ramkumar, Standing Counsel for Railways, to appear for the fifth
respondent.
9 Accordingly, Mr. P.T. Ramkumar, on instructions, submitted that
road survey was conducted yesterday (04.01.2024), from which, it was found that
after the temple in question, more number of houses than what was stated by the
Tahsildar, have been constructed.
10 He also brought to the notice of this Court the order passed by the
Supreme Court in Utran Se Besthan Railway Jhopadpatti Vikas Mandal v
Government of India and others1, which was a case involving encroachment
made in the lands of the Western Railway, wherein, a slew of directions was
issued for removal of encroachment from the Western Railway lands, following the
earlier judgment of the Supreme Court in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation v
Nawab Khan Gulab Khan2. It is also apropos to point out that the Supreme
Court had specifically observed that the District Collector should ensure that as a
measure of rehabilitation, the persons evicted may also be given residential
accommodation, subject to their eligibility.For ease of reference, the said directions
are re-produced below:
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1 dated 16.12.2021 passed in S.L.P. (Civil) Diary No.19714 of 2021
2 (1997) 11 SCC 121
“Hence, keeping in mind the dictum of this Court in Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation Vs. Nawab Khan Gulab Khan reported in (1997) 11 SCC 121, on
that analogy, we propose to issue following directions:
(i) The respondent – Western Railways do immediately issue
notices to the occupants of the concerned structures which are
falling within the belt which is required immediately for commencing
the remaining project work by giving two weeks' time to the
concerned occupant(s) to vacate the respective premises;
(ii) In respect of the remaining land owned by Railways,
even though it may not be immediately required for the project,
similar notice be given to the occupants of structures standing
thereon by giving six weeks’ time to vacate the respective premises;
(iii) In either case (i) and (ii) above, the notices be issued
within one week from today and if the occupants fail to vacate the
unauthorized structure, it will be open to the respondent-Western
Railways to initiate appropriate action to forcibly dispossess them
and to demolish or remove the unauthorized structure(s) by taking
assistance of the local police force. The
Superintendent/Commissioner of Police of the concerned area shall
ensure that adequate police force is deployed on the site and
surrounding areas including to provide protection to the
officials/staff engaged in the demolition of unauthorized structures
and to facilitate them to commence the eviction process and
demolition of the unauthorized structures, referred to in the eviction
notices on the specified date and time;
(iv) Before commencing the process of eviction and removal
of the structures, the Collector of the concerned District must ensure
that necessary details about the names and number of persons
occupying the concerned structure, including their identity and
profile should be duly recorded, which record should be preserved
by the Collector for considering the eligibility of those persons for
being provided suitable residential accommodation after being
evicted owning to proposed demolition action;
(v) The entity, who is the owner of the land, namely,
Western Railways in this case as well as the local Government and
the State Government shall be jointly and severally liable to pay a
sum of Rs. 2,000/- per month per demolished structure for a period
of six months from the date of demolition of their structure as ex-
gratia amount to the head of the family/occupants of the concerned
unauthorized structure removed during demolition action. That
amount shall be initially paid by the Collector for a period of six
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months “only” (not beyond six months each) and shall be later on
shared equally by the entity (owner of the land), local Government
and State Government;
(vi) In the event, the local Government has any rehabilitation
scheme, the affected persons may apply for being rehabilitated
under the said scheme, if eligible and subject to verification of
eligibility and complying with all other terms and conditions of the
prevalent scheme. The local Government may provide them suitable
residential accommodation in lieu of rehabilitation owing to
demolition of their structure.
(vii) If no rehabilitation scheme has been formulated by the
local Government or is in force, the persons likely to be affected by
the action of demolition can apply for allocation of residential
premises under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Scheme, which
application be processed not later than six months from the date of
its receipt and taken to its logical end, application-wise within such
period.
(viii) Be it a case of rehabilitation under clause (vi) or (vii)
above, the persons affected by demolition action by the Authorities
cannot insist for allotment of alternative residential accommodation
at the same place from where they have been evicted (as it is not in
situ rehabilitation programme). The eligible persons be allotted
accommodation wherever available in the same or even in
neighbouring districts.
(ix) In addition, since the Railways have power to initiate
civil/criminal action against the unauthorized occupants on the
Railway property, must resort to those proceedings against the
concerned persons immediately after it is brought to the notice to the
concerned official of the Railways.
Further, the Railways being the owner of the property, as also the
local Government and State Government must initiate appropriate
action against the erring persons, including the officials of the
concerned establishment for allowing and tolerating such
encroachment and for not taking corrective action of removal of
encroachments in right earnest and at the earliest opportunity.
(x) The status report of the action taken by the Railway
Board as also by the local Government and State Government be
furnished to this Court before the next date.”
11 Superadded, an order passed by a Division Bench of the Allahabad
High Court in Anoop Kumar Mishra v State of Uttar Pradesh and 8 others 3
was also brought to the notice of this Court, wherein, the order of the Supreme
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3 Writ (C) No.30869 of 2021 decided on 20.01.2022
Court in Utran Se Besthan Railway Jhopadpatti Vikas Mandal, supra, was
adverted to and directions were also issued to remove encroachments from the
Railway lands by following the Indian Railways Way and Works Manual.
12 At the cost of repetition, it is as clear as the sky that the Mariamman
Temple has been constructed by encroaching the Power House Road, Mariamman
Koil Street and the Railway lands. It is not as if the temple has been in existence
for centuries on end and the layout was made subsequently. In fact, the temple is
right in the middle of Power House Road, as a consequence of which, there is no
road for the persons who reside in the northern side extension of the road. If the
Railways decide to demarcate their portion, thereby preventing access to anyone, it
will be very difficult for the people residing on one end of the Power House Road
to reach the other end of the said road. That apart, admittedly, Government
offices, godowns and houses are also there in the vicinity and the persons using
these premises will be subject to untold suffering to reach the northern and
southern ends of the Power House Road.
13 Though the Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai, has been suo
motu impleaded by us as the fifth respondent, since the place in question comes
under Trichy Division of the Railways, it is directed that the fifth respondent and
the Divisional Railway Manager, Trichy, shall act in tandem with each other and
also the other authorities, viz., the other respondents, and remove the Mariamman
Temple and also other encroachments, viz., the houses put up on the Railway
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lands, within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this
order. Needless to state that the directions given by the Supreme Court in Utran
Se Besthan Railway Jhopadpatti Vikas Mandal, supra, shall be taken as
guidelines during the process of removal of encroachments. Further, the temple
authorities are at liberty to take the deity(ies) from the temple and reinstall it/them
without making any other encroachment, as was made in the present case, as per
the established procedure.
14 While carrying out the aforesaid exercise of removal of Mariamman
Temple and other encroachments, the respondents shall also adhere to the decision
of a Coordinate Bench of this Court, in which, one of us (SVNJ) was a Member, in
N.Sankar v The Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning,
Government of Tamil Nadu and 3 others4, to avoid disciplinary proceedings
being initiated against them.
With the above directions and observations, this writ petition stands
disposed of. Costs made easy. Connected W.M.P. stands closed.
(S.V.N., J.) (K.R.S., J.)
05.01.2024
cad
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4 W.P.(MD) No.16120 of 2023 decided on 30.08.2023
S. VAIDYANATHAN, J.
and
K. RAJASEKAR, J.
cad
To
1 The District Collector
Villupuram
2 The District Revenue Officer
Villupuram
3 The Commissioner
Villupuram Municipality
4 The Tahsildar
Villupuram
5 The Divisional Railway Manager
Southern Railway
Chennai
6 The Divisional Railway Manager
Southern Railway
Trichy
05.01.2024
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