"Serious Allegations Of Encroachment, Will Cause Inconvenience To Public": Madras High Court Directs District Collector To Conduct Site Inspection

The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice J Sathya Narayana Prasad passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by one G. Karthick who contended that the respondents colluded with government authorities and encroached upon the said public land.

The petitioner contended that one of the respondents, Mr A Rajendran, in collusion with Government Authorities, secured patta over and above the land owned by him in the given survey number and was now attempting to put up construction on the land. He further contended that this property was now acquired by one Jeeva Educational trust (14^th respondent) to install a statue or idol of a political leader.

The petitioner contended that the area acquired by the respondent for erecting statue is an already congested junction and such construction would cause further traffic congestion as lakhs of devotees Arunachaleswarar Temple are using the pathway for "Girivalam". The petitioner also submitted that if any construction is put up in the area, it would disrupt the flow of water during the monsoon season and would flood the area.

The respondents on the other hand contended that there was no illegality in the construction and that the property was developed in accordance with law. They further submitted that the petition was filed with a political motive and that the petitioner did not have any locus standi to file the petition in respect of such issues where he has no connection at all.

Considering the gravity of the allegation raised by the petitioner and that the fact that encroachment would cause inconvenience to the people at large and may even cause flooding during the monsoon season, the Court deemed it necessary to ascertain whether there was any encroachment. Hence, directions were issued to the District Collector.

Case Title: G.Karthick v. The State of Tamil Nadu and Others

Case No: W.M.P No. 12421 & 12422 of 2022 in WP No. 12929 of 2022

Click here to read/download the order