C.Sivagnanam vs The Administrative Commander
2024 Latest Caselaw 18831 Mad

Citation : 2024 Latest Caselaw 18831 Mad
Judgement Date : 25 September, 2024

Madras High Court

C.Sivagnanam vs The Administrative Commander on 25 September, 2024

                                                                                  C.R.P.No.3951 of 2024

                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

                                                     DATED: 25.09.2024

                                                           CORAM

                         THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V.LAKSHMINARAYANAN

                                                 C.R.P.No. 3951 of 2024
                                                          and
                                                 C.M.P.No.21611 of 2024


                   C.Sivagnanam                                                   ... Petitioner


                                                            Vs.
                   1.The Administrative Commander
                     Station Head Quarters
                     Fort St.George, Chennai – 600 001.

                   2.The Estate Officer,
                     Station Head Quarters,
                     Fort St.George, Chennai – 600 001.                           ... Respondents



                   PRAYER: Civil Revision Petition filed under Article 227 of Constitution of

                   India praying to pass an order of direction to dispose of I.A.No.1 of 2024 in

                   PP.CMA.No.33 of 2024 on the file of the Principal City Civil Court Judge,

                   Chennai.

                                    For Petitioner     :    Mr.K.V.Sajeev Kumar
                                    For Respondents :       Mr.A.Kumaraguru



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                                                                                    C.R.P.No.3951 of 2024




                                                        ORDER

This Civil Revision Petition is filed at the instance of the appellant in

C.M.A.No.33 of 2024.

2. Heard Mr.K.V.Sajeev Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner and

Mr.A.Kumaraguru, learned counsel for the respondents.

3. The petitioner has been running a Canteen under the name and style

of 'Saapida Vaanga'. His father is a freedom fighter and the first respondent

had allotted a premises to him for the purpose of running the said Canteen.

Proceedings had been initiated in the year 2012 seeking for eviction of the

Civil Revision Petitioner from the said suit schedule mentioned property

invoking the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised

Occupants) Act, 1971. The eviction petition was allowed. An appeal preferred

there from was dismissed. The petitioner preferred a revision before this

Court in C.R.P.No.2892 of 2014. The said revision was allowed on

11.04.2018 and the matter was remitted to the Estate Officer for fresh

consideration. Thereafter, orders were passed directing the petitioner to pay

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additional sums towards damages. During the time when this nation was

affected by COVID-19, the first respondent called upon the petitioner to pay a

sum of Rs.22,00,000/- as arrears. Pleading that no amounts are due, the

petitioner resisted the same.

4. The petitioner filed a writ petition before this Court in

W.P.No.15268 of 2021 pleading that he should not be evicted from the

premises, except otherwise in accordance with law. The said writ petition

came to be disposed of with a direction that appropriate action will be taken

in accordance with law, after the disposal of the writ petition filed by the

other occupants in the neighbouring buildings. Even at that stage, it was a

clear and categorical case of the first respondent that the building is unfit for

occupation by any person and that it required demolition.

5. Be that as it may, the writ petitions filed by the neighbouring

occupants came to be dismissed by this Court on 03.06.2024. Subsequently,

the petitioner filed another writ petition in W.P.No.18173 of 2024, which also

came to be disposed of on 04.07.2024. Thereafter, eviction proceedings were

initiated by the second respondent which resulted in an order of eviction on

09.09.2024.

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6. Aggrieved by the same, the Civil Revision Petitioner has preferred an

appeal in C.M.A.No.33 of 2024 before the learned Principal Judge, City Civil

Court at Chennai.

7. The cause of action for the present Civil Revision Petitioner is that

he took out an application for stay of the order in I.A.No.1 of 2024. The

learned Appellate Judge, without taking note of the fact that the orders of

eviction had already been passed against the Civil Revision Petitioner, had

issued notice and not granted any interim order. Feeling aggrieved, the

present Civil Revision Petition.

8. It is not in dispute that an appeal has been preferred against the

order of eviction dated 09.09.2024. If an order of eviction is not kept in

abeyance pending disposal of the statutory appeal, the very purpose of

preferring the appeal, would become infructuous.

9. This Court in Shanthi Theatre Vs. The Joint Commissioner-1,

Land Administration [1990 (2) Law weekly 665] and A.Natrajan Vs.

Commissioner for Land Administration [1996 (2) Law weekly 553] has

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taken a view that if an interim order is not granted pending disposal of an

appeal preferred against the order of evictions, the appeal would be rendered

otiose.

10. In the light of the above judgments of this Court, this Civil Revision

Petition is disposed of on the following terms :

(i) The order of eviction passed by the second respondent

dated 09.09.2024 against the Civil Revision Petitioner shall be

kept in abeyance till 31.10.2024.