Madras High Court
S.Stella vs The Secretary To Government on 18 February, 2025
Author: S.M.Subramaniam
Bench: S.M.Subramaniam
2025:MHC:442
W.A.No.3561 of 2024
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 18.02.2025
CORAM :
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM
AND
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE K.RAJASEKAR
W.A.No.3561 of 2024
S.Stella .. Appellant
v.
1. The Secretary to Government
(Housing and Town Planning)
Puducherry,Goubert Avenue, Beach Road
Puducherry 605 001
2. The Chief Town Planner
Puducherry Planning Authority
Puducherry 605 005
3. The Chief Town Planner
Town and Country Planning Department
Jawahar Nagar, Boomianpet
Puducherry 605 005
4. The Member Secretary
Puducherry Planning Authority
Jawahar Nagar, Boomianpet
Puducherry 605 005
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W.A.No.3561 of 2024
5. The Member Secretary
Puducherry Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)
Office of Real Estate Regulatory Authority
Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry 605 005
6. Director of Survey and Land Records
Department of Survey and Land Records
II Floor, Revenue Complex, Kamaraj Salai
Saram, Puducherry 605 013
7. The Commissioner
Villianur Commune Panchayat
Puducherry 605 110
8. The Sub Collector
Villanur Commune Panchayat
Puducherry 605 110
9. The Sub Registrar
Villianur Registration Office
Puducherry 605 110
10.Executive Engineer – IV (O & M)
Electricity Department
Main Office Campus
No.137, NSC Bose Salai
Puducherry 605 001
11.S.Maidily
12.N.Ramani
13.P.Sattiavatty .. Respondents
Memorandum of Grounds of Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the
Letters Patent against the order dated 28.08.2024 passed in W.P.No.13787
of 2023.
For Appellant :: Mr.J.Srinivasa Mohan for
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W.A.No.3561 of 2024
M/s TVJ Associates
For Respondents :: Mr.R.Sreedhar
Additional Government Pleader
(Puducherry) for R1 to R10
Mr.T.Saikrishnan for R11 to R13
JUDGMENT
(Judgment of the Court was made by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM,J.)
The intra-Court appeal has been instituted assailing the order dated
28.08.2024 in W.P.No.13787 of 2023. The writ petitioner is the appellant
before this Court.
2. The grievance of the appellant is that the industrial layout approval
dated 28.07.2021 was granted by the fourth respondent pursuant to the NOC
issued by the seventh respondent, infringing the property right of the
appellant. The appellant claims to be the owner of the adjacent land and by
citing the property owned by the appellant as a road, the layout has been
approved. Therefore, the layout based on an erroneous sketch is to be set
aside.
3. The learned single Judge, in paragraph-8, made an observation that
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the writ petitioner is claiming the road portion as private road. As per the
report of the seventh respondent, the road mentioned in the approved
industrial layout granted in favour of the respondents 11 to 13, belongs to
Villianur Commune Panchayat, which is the seventh respondent.
4. This Court is of the considered opinion that the findings with
reference to the civil rights in writ proceedings, would cause prejudice to the
interest of the titleholders or the persons claiming right over the properties.
Such exercise needs to be avoided in writ proceedings under Article 226 of
the Constitution of India. It is possible that any such observations made by
the writ Court would impact the civil proceedings, if any, initiated between
the parties. The scope of the writ petition cannot be expanded for
adjudication of disputed facts of civil nature and such an adjudication is to
be done by the competent civil Court based on the documents and evidences
available on record. The High Court cannot conduct a roving enquiry into
the disputed facts between the parties.
5. The power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution
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of India is to ensure the processes through which the decision has been taken
in consonance with the statues and rules in force, but not the decision itself.
That being the factum, the appellant's claim regarding the property is to be
adjudicated before the competent forum. Thus we do not find any infirmity
in the order passed in the writ petition. By granting liberty to the appellant to
approach the competent Court, the present writ appeal stands dismissed. In
the event of approaching the competent civil Court, the said proceedings are
to be conducted uninfluenced by any of the observations made by the writ
Court or by this Court in the present order. Consequently, C.M.P.No.27632
of 2024 is also dismissed. No costs.
Index : yes (S.M.S.,J.) (K.R.S.,J.)
Neutral citation : yes 18.02.2025
ss
To
1. The Secretary to Government
(Housing and Town Planning)
Puducherry,Goubert Avenue, Beach Road
Puducherry 605 001
2. The Chief Town Planner
Puducherry Planning Authority
Puducherry 605 005
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3. The Chief Town Planner
Town and Country Planning Department
Jawahar Nagar, Boomianpet
Puducherry 605 005
4. The Member Secretary
Puducherry Planning Authority
Jawahar Nagar, Boomianpet
Puducherry 605 005
5. The Member Secretary
Puducherry Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)
Office of Real Estate Regulatory Authority
Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry 605 005
6. Director of Survey and Land Records
Department of Survey and Land Records
II Floor, Revenue Complex, Kamaraj Salai
Saram, Puducherry 605 013
7. The Commissioner
Villianur Commune Panchayat
Puducherry 605 110
8. The Sub Collector
Villanur Commune Panchayat
Puducherry 605 110
9. The Sub Registrar
Villianur Registration Office
Puducherry 605 110
10.The Executive Engineer – IV (O & M)
Electricity Department
Main Office Campus
No.137, NSC Bose Salai
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Puducherry 605 001
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S.M.SUBRAMANIAM,J.
AND
K.RAJASEKAR,J.
ss
18.02.2025
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