K.Murugesan, v. The District Collector,
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 15.07.2025
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE Mr. JUSTICE M.SUNDAR AND THE HONOURABLE Mr. JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR AND W.M.P.No.10157 of 2024 1.K.Murugesan 2.M.Seethalakshmi ..
Petitioners Vs.
1.The District Collector O/o.The District Collector Namakkal District 2.The District Revenue Officer O/o.The Collector Namakkal District 3.The Revenue Divisional Officer Namakkal Division Namakkal District 4.The Revenue Tahsildar Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 5.The Revenue Inspector Vennadhur Firka Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 1/8
6.The Taluk Surveyor Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 7.The Village Administrative Officer Athanur Ayipalayam Village Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District .. Respondents Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issue of a writ of certiorarified mandamus calling for the records on the file of the 4th respondent impugned notice dated 07.03.2024 in Na.Ka.No. 4662/2023/B3 and quash the same in respect of S.No.44/4, Athanur Ayipalayam Village, Rasipuram Taluk, Namakkal District and consequently direct the respondents 1 to 7, to issue the patta as per the Government Scheme already land allotted to the 2nd petitioner on 20.11.2023. For petitioners : Mr.K.Karthikeyan For respondents : Mr.C.Kathiravan Special Government Pleader For intervenor : Mr.R.Nalliyappan
O R D E R
(made by M.SUNDAR, J.) Impugned order is an appealable order as it has been made by R4 (Revenue Tahsildar) under Section 6 of 'The Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905 (Tamil Nadu Act III of 1905)' [hereinafter 'said 1905 Act' for the sake of brevity].
2/8
2. To be noted, an appeal against impugned order is available to the writ petitioners vide Section 10 of said 1905 Act and there is no disputation or contestation that the alternative remedy is efficacious and effective.
3. Be that as it may, before proceeding further, it is deemed appropriate to write that this Court, in C.Gopinathan case reported in 2025:MHC:1162 (order dated 29.04.2025 in W.P.Nos.8355 and 8357 of 2022 and W.M.P. Nos.8324 and 8237 of 2022 thereat), respectfully following Girnar principle, i.e., declaration of law made by a Constitution Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Girnar Traders (3) vs. State of Maharashtra reported in (2011) 3 SCC 1, held that said 1905 Act is a self-contained Code. Girnar principle is that if a statute provides for a complete machinery to deal with the purpose sought to be achieved by that law and its dependence on other legislations is either absent or minimal, such a statute is a self- contained Code.
4. The eco-system of said 1905 Act, i.e., the purpose sought to be achieved by said 1905 Act is to lay down a procedure for eviction of encroachment of lands belonging to the Government. As regards said 1905 Act, inter alia, there is a provision to have the alleged encroacher show caused 3/8
under Section 7 of said 1905 Act followed by an order under section 6 (considering the cause shown). The order under Section 6 is appealable. Section 10 is the appeal provision and inter alia District Collector is the appellate authority and there is a provision for further revision to the Government under Section 10-A of said 1905 Act. Pending appeal / revision, there is a provision for making interim prayer vide Section 10-B of said 1905 Act. This order of Revisional Authority is obviously subject to judicial review. This is the legal architecture of the machinery put in place to deal with the purpose sought to be achieved by said 1905 Act. Such a three-tier machinery has been put in place to check unauthorised occupation of lands which are the properties of the Government (besides imposition of penal or prohibitory assessment or charge), after giving adequate and ample opportunity to a person who is alleged to be in occupation of public roads, streets, lanes and paths, bridges, ditches, dikes and fences, rivers, streams, nalas, lakes, tanks and such other properties of Government.
5. The purpose sought to be achieved by said 1905 Act and the architecture of the machinery put in place to achieve the same, when tested on the touchstone of Girnar principle, leaves us with the view that said 1905 Act is a self-contained Code which provides for complete machinery to deal with 4/8
the purpose sought to be achieved with no dependence on other legislations or at the highest minimal dependence on other legislations. Suffice to say that said 1905 Act is clearly a self-contained Code.
6. The impugned order is dated 07.03.2024. It appears to have been served on the writ petitioner on the same day i.e., 07.03.2024 and the captioned 'writ petition' [hereinafter 'WP' for the sake of brevity] has been filed in this Court on 21.03.2024 within 30 days which is the time provided for statutory appeal under Section 10 vide sub-section (1) of Section 11. This means that writ petitioner has another 16 days from today to file the statutory appeal. If statutory appeal along with stay petition under Section 10-B is filed within 16 days from today i.e., on or before 01.08.2025 [to be noted, R1 (The District Collector, Namakkal) is the appellate authority], the appeal and the stay petition thereat shall be considered on their own merits and in accordance with law.
7. If appeal is not filed on or before 01.08.2025, the impugned order can be implemented but if the appeal is filed on or before 01.08.2025, further coercive action, if any and if that be so, shall be subject to the orders of the R1 (appellate authority) vide stay petition under Section 10-B (if filed). If appeal is filed without stay petition also, the impugned order can be implemented. 5/8
8. Though obvious, for the purpose of specificity, we clarify that R1 (appellate authority) shall consider the statutory appeal under Section 10 of said 1905 Act on its own merits and in accordance with law untrammelled by the instant order.
9. Captioned main WP stands disposed of in the aforesaid manner. Owing to the view of this Court qua coercive action about which there is allusion supra, captioned WMP thereat has become otiose and therefore, the same is disposed of as closed. There shall be no order as to costs. (M.S., J.) (H.C., J.) 15.07.2025 Index : Yes/No (3/3) gya P.S.: Upload forthwith Registry is directed to return the original impugned order on receiving a certified copy of the same 6/8
To 1.The District Collector O/o.The District Collector Namakkal District 2.The District Revenue Officer O/o.The Collector Namakkal District 3.The Revenue Divisional Officer Namakkal Division Namakkal District 4.The Revenue Tahsildar Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 5.The Revenue Inspector Vennadhur Firka Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 6.The Taluk Surveyor Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 7.The Village Administrative Officer Athanur Ayipalayam Village Rasipuram Taluk Namakkal District 7/8
M.SUNDAR, J.
AND HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR, J.
gya 15.07.2025 (3/3) 8/8