S.Arokkiasamy @ R.Swamy, v. The Assistant Survey Officer (North),
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 21.06.2024
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M. SUNDAR AND THE HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE K. GOVINDARAJAN THILAKAVADI & W.M.P. No. 13406 of 2021 S. Arokkiasamy @ R. Swamy ..Petitioner Vs.
1.
The Assistant Survey Officer (North)/ Direct Assistant Officer, Office of Land Survey and Survey Officer, Chepauk, Chennai 600 005.
2.
The District Revenue Officer, O/o. The District Revenue Officer, Vengikkal Village & Post, Thiruvannamalai Taluk & District, PIN - 606 604.
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3.
The Revenue Divisional Officer, O/o. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Tindivanam Road, Thiruvannamalai Town & Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District, Pin - 606 601.
4.
The Tahsildar, O/o. The Tahsildar, Chengam Town & Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District, PIN - 609 701.
5.
Mr.A. Saminathan ..Respondents Prayer:
Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issue of a Writ of Certioraified Mandamus to call for the records of the impugned order in Se.mu.ka. A3/756/2020 dated 30.12.2020 issued by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Thiruvannamalai and District, the 3rd respondent herein and quash the same, subsequently direct the 3rd respondent herein to alter the revenue reords after cancel the temporary patta of Natham Live over case (ej;jk; epYit ,dk;) and issue permanent patta in favour of the petitioner herein in respect of the land and house in Survey No. 88/1A and Sub Division No. 118/5 measuring an extent about (0.015 Ares) 1453 1⁄4 square feet situated at Door No. 324, T.V. Room Street, Beeamanandal 2\14
Village, Pachchal Post, Chengam Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District after verifying the record stands in the name of the petitioner and in respect of the same land and house, after demolishing the illegal construction raised by one Late G. Chinnaiyan, S/o Late Gopal, who was residing in Beeamanandal Village, Pachchal Post, Chengam Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District, on the basis of the petitioner's representation dated 03.05.2021. For Petitioner ::
Mr.Dalit Tiger C. Ponnusamy For Respondents ::
Mr.A. Selvendran, Special Govt. Pleader for R1 to R4
O R D E R
(Made by M. SUNDAR,J.) In the captioned 'Writ Petition'[ 'WP' for the sake of brevity], the nucleus of the matter is land comprised in S.No. 118/5 measuring an extent about (0.015 Ares) 1453 1⁄4 square feet or thereabouts at Door No. 324, T.V. Room Street, Beeamanandal Village, Pachchal Post, Chengam Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District (hereinafter 'said land' for the sake of convenience and clarity).
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2.
The writ petitioner's case is that he is an Ex-Serviceman, he is in possession of said land and it has been classified as 'ej;jk; epYit ,dk;' in the revenue records. The writ petitioner, after sending representations, came before this Court by filing writ petition being W.P. No. 30534 of 2019 with a complaint that certain encroachments and illegal constructions have been put up in the said land and a Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court disposed of the writ petition in and by an order dated 25.10.2019 directing jurisdictional Revenue Divisional Officer [10th respondent/Revenue Divisional Officer, Thiruvannamalai Town and Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District] to consider the writ petitioner's representation dated 25.09.2019 on its own merits and in accordance with law after putting the petitioner as well as private respondents on notice. The 'jurisdictional Revenue Divisional Officer' ('RDO' for the sake of brevity), who is 3rd respondent before us, was directed to complete the exercise within a time frame of 10 weeks. 3.
The jurisdictional RDO, in obedience to this directive, embarked upon the exercise and made the order bearing Reference No.Se.Mu.Ka 4\14
A3/756/2020 dated 30.12.2020, which has been signed by RDO on 30.12.2020. This is the impugned order in the captioned WP. 4.
In the hearing today, Mr.Tiger Dalit C. Ponnusamy, learned counsel for writ petitioner submitted that the said land has been encroached upon in a high-handed manner and the impugned order says that the said land should be kept vacant after removing the encroachment. Considering the tussle qua said land, learned counsel submitted that the writ petitioner has been in possession, he was an Ex-Serviceman and he has been visiting the said land at frequent intervals.
5.
The submissions made and the contents of the impugned order bring to light that there are several factual aspects which may have to be gone into. Learned counsel for writ petitioner also points out that criminal complaints have been lodged as against certain alleged high-handed actions. 6.
Be that as it may, in the captioned WP, we are concernd with the legal tussle qua said land which is subject matter of the impugned order. 5\14
7.
As regards official respondents, namely, respondents 1 to 4, they are represented by Mr.A. Selvendran, learned Special Government Pleader. As regards 5th respondent, pursuant to the earlier order of Coordinate Division Bench dated 25.06.2021, 5th respondent has been duly served; name and address of 5th respondent is shown in the cause list; 5th respondent has not chosen to enter appearance through any counsel and there is no representation for the 5th respondent in the hearing today. 8.
Be that as it may, learned State Counsel, on instructions, submits that there is a provision for review to Review Committee at District Level for assailing the impugned order. In support of this contention, learned State Counsel has placed before us G.O.Ms. NO. 540 Revenue [(LD6)2] Department dated 04.12.2014 and he has drawn our attention to clause (iv) thereat captioned 'Review Committee at District Level'. A scanned reproduction of the said G.O. is as hereunder: 6\14
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9.
In the light of the narrative and discussion thus far, more particularly, the aspect of factual discrepancies, we deem it appropriate to relegate the matter to the Review Committee at District Level referred to supra to test the impugned order on its own merits, in accordance with law and pass orders after giving an opportunity to the writ petitioner as well as 5th respondent, who is the alleged encroacher. Any other person whose rights 10\14
are likely to be affected should also be given an opportunity to show cause. 10.
As regards opportunity to show cause, it is not imperative to hold personal hearing as personal hearing will be at the discretion of the Review Committee. In other words, we make it clear that we are neither saying that personal hearing is imperative nor are we saying that personal hearing is not necessary. It will all depend upon the contest before the Review Committee and it is for the Review Committee to take a decision based on the nature of the contest before it as regards personal hearing. 11.
Learned counsel for writ petitioner citing advanced age of writ petitioner requested for a timeline/time frame. 12.
Owing to the aforementioned submission made by the learned counsel for writ petitioner, we direct the Review Committee at District Level to treat the affidavit in W.P. No. 12609 of 2024 and the documents filed therewith in the form of a typed set as review application 11\14
and dispose of the matter after giving an opportunity to the writ petitioner, 5th respondent and all concerned as expeditiously as the business of the Review Committee would permit but in any event, within 12 weeks from today i.e., by 13.09.2024. A copy of the proceedings of the Review Committee disposing of the review shall be communicated to writ petitioner, 5th respondent and any other person concerned under due acknowledgement within seven working days from the date of disposal. We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion or view on the merits of the matter, all questions are left open and therefore, the review will be considered on its own merits and in accordance with law.
13.
Captioned WP is disposd of in the aforesaid manner. Consequently, captioned WMP is disposed of as closed. There shall be no order as to costs.
(M.S.J.) (K.G.T.J.) nv 21.06.2024 To 1.
The Assistant Survey Officer (North)/ 12\14
Direct Assistant Officer, Office of Land Survey and Survey Officer, Chepauk, Chennai 600 005.
2.
The District Revenue Officer, O/o. The District Revenue Officer, Vengikkal Village & Post, Thiruvannamalai Taluk & District, PIN - 606 604.
3.
The Revenue Divisional Officer, O/o. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Tindivanam Road, Thiruvannamalai Town & Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District, Pin - 606 601.
4.
The Tahsildar, O/o. The Tahsildar, Chengam Town & Taluk, Thiruvannamalai District, PIN - 609 701.
P.S.I: Upload forthwith P.S.II:All concerned (including the Registry of Madras High Court) to act forthwith on the uploaded soft copy of this proceedings as uploaded in the official website of this Court. To be noted, the soft copies uploaded in the official website of this Court are water marked, besides being QR coded.
M. SUNDAR,J.
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AND K. GOVINDARAJAN THILAKAVADI,J.
nv & W.M.P. No. 13406 of 2021 21.06.2024 14\14