Madras High Court

S.Ravi vs The District Collector on 17 April, 2025

Author: M.Sundar

Bench: M.Sundar

                                                                                          W.P.No.13914 of 2025

                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

                                                  DATED : 17.04.2025

                                                           CORAM

                                     THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR
                                                    and
                           THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE K.GOVINDARAJAN THILAKAVADI

                                                W.P.No.13914 of 2025
                                                         &
                                               W.M.P No.15649 of 2025

                     1. S.Ravi
                        S/o.E.Sriramulu Reddiyar

                     2. V.Amudha
                        W/o.Veeraraghavalu

                     3. S.Purushothaman
                        S/o.E.Sriramulu Reddiyar

                     4. D.Nandhini
                        D/o.Veeraragavalu Reddiyar                                     ... Petitioners

                                                                vs.

                     1. The District Collector
                       Office of the District Collector
                        Chengalpattu

                     2. The Revenue Division Officer
                        Office of the Revenue Division Office
                        Tambaram
                        Chengalpattu

                     Page Nos.1/11




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                                                                                                     W.P.No.13914 of 2025



                     3. The Tahsildar
                        Tambaram Taluk Office
                        Tambaram, Chennai - 600 045

                     4. The President
                        Ottiyambakkam Village Panchayat
                        Ottiyambakkam                                                        ... Respondents

                           Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India
                     praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records of
                     the impugned notice dated 12.04.2025 issued by the fourth respondent
                     under Section 131(2) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994 and quash the
                     same as wholly illegal and arbitrary and consequently direct the third
                     respondent to dispose of the representation dated 15.04.2025 preferred by
                     the petitioner within a time frame.

                                        For Petitioners         :       Mr.T.M.Mano

                                        For Respondents         :       Mr.T.K.Saravanan
                                                                        Additional Government Pleader
                                                                        for R1 to R4

                                                                ORDER

[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J.,]

Subject matter of captioned main 'Writ Petition' ['WP' for the sake of

brevity] is Survey No.73/1A (part), New Survey No.313/3 situate in

Ottiambakkam Village, St.Thomas Mount Panchayat Union, Tambaram

Taluk, Chengalpattu District' [hereinafter 'said property' for the sake of

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convenience].

2. Alleging that said property is a pond (Fl;il), R4 has issued a

'notice dated 12.04.2025' {hereinafter 'impugned order' for the sake of

convenience and clarity} under Section 131(2) of 'Tamil Nadu Panchayats

Act, 1994 (Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1994)' [hereinafter 'said Act' for the sake

of convenience and clarity] .

3. Captioned main WP has been filed with a prayer for issue of

certiorarified mandamus. Certiorari limb assails impugned notice. As

regards the mandamus limb, a directive to R3 (Tahsildar, Tambaram Taluk

Office, Tambaram) is sought qua 'representations dated 15.04.2025 sent by

writ petitioners' ('said representations' for the sake of convenience).

4. Learned counsel for writ petitioners Mr.T.M.Mano, adverting to the

impugned notice submits that it calls upon the writ petitioners to remove the

alleged encroachment fully on or before 19.04.2025 and it puts the writ

petitioners/noticees under pain of forcible dispossession on 21.04.2025

failing compliance. Adverting to Section 131(2) of said Act, learned

counsel for writ petitioners submits that if removal of encroachment is not

secured within the period specified in the order, the Revenue Department

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should initiate proceedings under 'the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act,

1905 (Tamil Nadu Act III of 1905)' {hereinafter 'said 1905 Act' for the sake

of brevity} but the impugned notice threatens forcible dispossession if the

writ petitioners do not remove the alleged encroachment by 19.04.2025 and

this is contrary to Section 131(2) of said Act under which impugned notice

has been issued is learned counsel's say.

5. Issue notice to respondents.

6. Mr.T.K.Saravanan, learned Additional Government Pleader accepts

notice for all four respondents and submits, on instructions, that action will

be initiated either under said 1905 Act by issue of a notice under Section 7

of said 1905 Act or under the 'Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction

of Encroachment Act, 2007 (Tamil Nadu Act 8 of 2007)' {hereinafter 'Tanks

Act' for the sake of convenience, clarity and brevity} as said property has

been classified as 'Fl;il '. This douses the anxiety of the writ petitioners

and this paves the way for giving a closure to the captioned main WP.

Therefore, main WP is taken up in the Admission Board with the consent of

learned counsel on both sides.

7. Before we write the operative portion of this order we deem it

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appropriate to write that Section 131(2) of said Act (said Act kicked in on

22.04.1994) talks about action under said 1905 Act but post said Act, Tanks

Act kicked in on 01.10.2007. Therefore, we read into Section 131(2) of said

Act and Tanks Act. In other words, from hereon and henceforth reference in

Section 131(2) to said 1905 Act will include Tanks Act and 'Tamil Nadu

Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Rules, 2007' [hereinafter

'Tanks Rules' for the sake of brevity] which are special Statutes. This Court

is adopting this course as Tanks Act and Tanks Rules kicked in post said

Act.

8. In the light of the narrative thus far, the following order is made:

i) Post 19.04.2025, the respondents will commence

action under said 1905 Act or Tanks Act by issuing of a

show-cause notice under Section 7 of said 1905 Act;

ii) This Court has repeatedly held that said 1905

Act is a self contained Code. The reason inter-alia is that

there is a provision to have the alleged encroacher show

caused under section 7 followed by an order (considering

the cause shown). The order under section 6 is appealable

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under section 10 [District Collector is the appellate

authority] and there is a provision for further revision to

the Government under Section 10-A [Section 10-A(3) to

be precise] of said 1905 Act. Pending appeal / revision,

there is a provision for making interim prayer vide

Section 10-B of said 1905 Act. Therefore, said 1905 Act

is a self contained Code in every sense of the expression.

Therefore, on writ petitioners / noticee responding to

Section 7 notice, the Statute will take its course;

iii) The above means that the certiorari limb of the

prayer is ordered by saying that impugned notice is not

quashed but it will be followed proceedings under said

1905 Act/Tanks Act as alluded to supra;

iv) Though obvious, it is made clear that

proceedings under said 1905 Act or Tanks Act shall be

dealt with on its own merits and in accordance with law.

This Court has already held that said 1905 Act is a self-

contained Code;

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v) As regards Tanks Act if the action is under Tanks

Act, T.K.Shanmugam (Full Bench){T.K.Shanmugam

Vs. State of Tamil Nadu reported in 2015 (5) LW 397}

principle will be followed, more particularly sub-sub-

paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of sub-paragraph (f) of

paragraph 15 which read as follows:

'15. Certain provisions of Tank Act namely, Sections 4 to 10 were challenged in a Writ Petition with a prayer to declare those provisions as null and void and contrary to Article 14 of the Constitution of India on the ground that those provisions confer upon the executive, unguided and uncanalised discretionary power, since they denied to the persons aggrieved an opportunity of being heard. The said Writ petition was heard by a Division Bench to which one of us (M.Sathyanarayanan,J.) was a party. The Division Bench took note of the various decisions including the decision in the case of Sivakasi Region Tax Payers Association (supra), disposed of the Writ Petitions without declaring the provisions of the Act as unconstitutional, since no opportunity is given and held that there is nothing in the Act which excludes the principles of natural justice, the Act (Tank Act) does not specifically indicate that the encroachers do not have right to be heard and issued the following directions vide judgment dated 10.02.2010, reported in 2010 3 MLJ 771.

                                              (a)     .....








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                                               (b)     .....

                                               (c)     .....

                                               (d)     ......

                                               (e)     .....

                                               (f)    We uphold the Act, while we provide

for observance of principles of natural justice within the Act itself, as under.

(i) When the officer of the Public Works Department publishes the notice in Form-II in the notice boards of the offices of Village Administrative Officer, Village Panchayat Office and the Water Resources Organization, notice shall also be issued to the alleged encroacher to the effect that the survey indicates that the place in his/her occupation is an encroachment and secondly, the notice in Form-III of the Rules may be issued.

(ii) On receipt of the said notice, the encroacher may give his/her objections relating to the classification of the land in his/her occupation and the nature of the encroachment within a period of two weeks.

(iii) Thereafter, the authorities shall consider the objections and pass appropriate orders, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, giving time to the encroachers to remove the encroachment.'

vi) As regards the mandamus limb, we make it clear

that it is open to the writ petitioners/noticees to raise all

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the points raised in the 15.04.2025 representations in the

writ petitioners' reply to the notices either under said 1905

Act or under Tanks Act, all of which shall be considered

on its own merits and in accordance with law. Mandamus

limb thus answered;

vii) Though obvious it is made clear that coercive

action if any and if that be so will be subject to orders /

final orders under said 1905 Act and/or Tanks Act and

Tanks Rules.

Captioned main WP disposed of in the aforesaid manner. As we have

written coercive action if any and if that be so will be subject to orders/final

orders under said 1905 Act and/or Tanks Act and Tanks Rules, captioned

WMP has become otiose and the same is disposed of as closed. There shall

be no order as to costs.

(M.S.,J.) (K.G.T.,J.) 17.04.2025 (3/3) Index : Yes/No Speaking order/Non speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No gpa

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1. The District Collector Office of the District Collector Chengalpattu

2. The Revenue Division Officer Office of the Revenue Division Office Tambaram Chengalpattu

3. The Tahsildar Tambaram Taluk Office Tambaram, Chennai - 600 045

4. The President Ottiyambakkam Village Panchayat Ottiyambakkam

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