Madras High CourtWP/21658/2022dismissed

Petroleum Corporation Limited Land Acquisition v. The State Of Tamilnadu

2026-03-11Honourable Dr Justice G. Jayachandran,Honourable Mr.Justice Shamim Ahmed16 pages

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED: 11-03-2026

CORAM

THE HON'BLE DR JUSTICE G. JAYACHANDRAN and THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SHAMIM AHMED WP Nos. 27986 of 2021, 21658, 6740 & 21995 of 2022 and 18708 of 2024, and WMP Nos.29552 & 29553 of 2021, 20670, 6822, 21021 & 21022 of 2022, and 20523, 20520 & 20519 of 2024 WP.No.21658 of 2022 Petroleum Corporation Limited Land Acquisition Land Owners and Farmers Rehabilitation Welfare Sangam Rep by its secretary A. Sakthivel A/o. Arunachalam Having office at No. 74 Pannangudi Thirumarugal Block Nagapattinam District 611 002 ..Petitioner Vs

1. The State of Tamil Nadu Represented by its Secretary Home Department, Fort St. George, Chennai Tamil Nadu.

2. The Commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam Chepauk, Chenani Tamil Nadu -600 005.

3. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

4. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam,

Tamil Nadu-611 003.

5. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit 4, District Collector office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

6. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

7. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasidhar office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

8. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu-611 001

9. The Sub Registrar Nagoor Sub Registrar Office, Nagoor, Nagapattinam District ..Respondents WP No. 18708 of 2024

1. Sakthivel

2. Sathiya

3. Saravanaperumal

4. Gopinath

5. Murugesan

6. Vijayaraj

7. Kalaiselvi

8. Manickavel

9. Balaiah 10.Murugavel 11.Usharani 12.Ramani 13.Sakthivel 14.R.Saranya

15.Vijaya 16.R.Durairaj 17.Mohamed Naina Maricar 18.Sameem Nachiyar 19.Ramalingam 20.Kalaiyarasan 21.Rengasamy 22.Anbudurai 23.Packirisamy 24.P.Nandhini 25.Amutha 26.Madhavan 27.Nirmal 28.Dhanasekaran 29.Marimuthu 30.Arunagiri 31.Ambigapathi 32.Gobalakrishnan 33.Selvarani 34.Suriya 35.Meenatchisundaram 36.Yuvaraj 37.Suvitha 38.Thangamani 39.Sekar 40.Suganya 41.Srinivasan 42.Saravanan 43.Ramesh 44.Santhanayaki 45.Eswari 46.Elamaran 47.Kalidass 48.Selventhiran 49.Abitha Begum 50.Muruganandham 51.Muthukumaran 52.Sowrirajan 53.Yuvaraj 54.Perumalsamy 55.Madamuthu 56.Jayaraj 57.Kudiyarasi

58.Palanivelrajan 59.Manikandan 60.Rajeshwari 61.Rajendiran 62.Mahalingam 63.P.Rengaiyan 64.Tamilselvi 65.Buvaneswari 66.Ramesh 67.Backiyanathan 68.Maheshwaran 69.Mahaveeran 70.Geethapriya 71.Vijayarani 72.Neelamegam 73.Amutha 74.Jayalakshmi 75.Vinodhini 76.Natarajan 77.Devendiran 78.Vinoth 79.Sivakumar 80.Ravikumar 81.Vasanthi 82.Lakshmi Narayanan 83.Gunasekaran 84.Navajothi 85.Ramalingam 86.Ummukolusum 87.Kamal Basha 88.Nather Nisha 89.Mohammad Zakariya 90.Abdul Kader 91.Mohamed Musthafa 92.Senthilkumar 93.Sathyaprakash 94.Vijayasamy 95.Sathyakumar 96.Buvaneswari 97.Murugesan 98.Govindaraj 99.Swathi

100. Gunasekaran

101. Ramesh

102. Veeravel

103. Mani

104. Raja

105. Geetha

106. Megala

107. Panchavarnam

108. Michael

109. Sathishkumar

110. Hemavathy

111. Aarthi

112. Sureka

113. Nivedhitha

114. Rajalakshm

115. Ramesh

116. Vadivelan

117. Shyamala

118. Iniyan

119. Syed Johara Beevi

120. Nabisathul Misreya

121. Minor. Kaviya Sree

122. Gopinath

123. Suganya

124. Mohamed Mansoor

125. Kalaiselvi

126. Rajarethinam

127. Veerappan

128. Abinaya

129. Manjula

130. Ajithkumar

131. Arumugam ..Petitioners Vs

1. The State of Tamilnadu Represented by its Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Investment Promotion and Commerce ( MIA-1) Department, Fort St. George, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

2. The Commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam Chepauk, Chenani Tamil Nadu -600 005.

3. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

4. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

5. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit 4, District Collector office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

6. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

7. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasidhar office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

8. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu-611 001 ..Respondents WP No. 27986 of 2021 Petroleum Corporation Ltd Land Acquisition, Land Owners and Farmers Rehabilitation Welfare Sangam Rep by its Secretary Mr. A. Sakthivel, S/o. Arunachalam,

No. 54, Panangudi Thirumarugal Block, Nagapattinam District - 611002.

..Petitioner(s) Vs

1. The State of Tamilnadu Represented by its Secretary, Fort St. George, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

2. The Commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam Chepauk, Chenani Tamil Nadu -600 005.

3. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

4. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

5. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit 4, District Collector office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

6. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

7. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasidhar office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

8. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office,

Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu-611 001The State of Tamil Nadu

9. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Represented by its Company Secretary, No.536, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600018.

(R9 impleaded vide order dated 06.04.2022 made in WMP.No.6581/2022 in WP.No.27986/2021 by MDIJ) ..Respondent(s) WP No. 6740 of 2022 Petroleum Corporation Limited Land Acquisition, Land Owners and Farmers, Rehabilitation Welfare Sangam Panankudi, Rep by its Secretary Mr.A. Sakthivel, S/o.Arunachalam, Having Office at No.54, Panangudi Thirumarugal block, Nagpattinam District- 611002.

..Petitioner(s) Vs

1. The State of Tamil Nadu Represented by its Secretary Home Department, Fort St. George, Chennai Tamil Nadu.

2. The Commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam Chepauk, Chenani Tamil Nadu -600 005.

3. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

4. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

5. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit 4, District Collector office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

6. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

7. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasidhar office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

8. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu-611 001.

..Respondent(s) WP No. 21995 of 2022 Petroleum Corporation Limited Land Acquisition, Land Owners and Farmers Rehabilitation Welfare Sangam Rep. by its Secretary A.Sakthivel, S/o.Arunachalam, having office at No.54, Panangudi Thirumarugal Block, Nagapattinam District-611 002.

..Petitioner(s) Vs

1. The State of Tamilnadu Represented by its Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Investment Promotion and Commerce ( MIA-1) Department, Fort St. George, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

2. The Commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam Chepauk, Chenani Tamil Nadu -600 005.

3. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

4. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

5. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit 4, District Collector office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 003.

6. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

7. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasidhar office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu-611 001.

8. Special Thasildhar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Thasildhar office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam,Tamil Nadu-611 001 ..Respondent(s) WP.No.21658 of 2022 PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus, forbearing respondents herein from registering any document with respect of land acquisition proceedings (CPCL Land acquisition) initiated by the respondents 2 to 8 herein till the disposal of writ petitions pending before this Honble Court in W.P. No. 27986 of 2021 W.P.No. 6740 of 2022, W.P. No. 19351 of 2022 and W.P. No.19445 of 2022.

WP No. 18708 of 2024 PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Certioari, call for the records of the Award Nos. 01 /2023 (Panangudi Algu 1, Panangudi Alagu 2, Goburajapuram ) 02/2023 Narimanam in Na.Ka.No 7807 / 2020 / LA / CPCL / Alagu 4, dated 30.04.2023 passed by the 4th respondent herein with regard to CPCL Land Acquisition proceedings and quash the same.

WP No. 27986 of 2021 PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents and related agencies appoint Three Member Committee head of retired High Court Judge along with Experts in land and agriculture and determined the Market price - market value - open market value employment for suitable persons in the premises and ensure the development of the affected local area (like road, schools, colleges, religious places, historical monuments and pollution etc., and submits the report before this Honourable Court. WP No. 6740 of 2022 PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to quash the Notice in Na.Ka. No. 7807 / 2020 CPCL (LA) -Unit-4 dated 24.01.

2022 issued by the 4th respondent under section 7 (2) of Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purpose Act 1997 and further direct the respondents herein to fix the open market value before conducting enquiry under Section 7 (2). WP No. 21995 of 2022 PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Certioari, to call for the records and to quash the G.O. (D) No.72 Industries Investment Promotion and Commerce (MIA-1) Department dated 3.8.2022 issued by the 1st respondent herein with regard to CPCL Land Acquisition proceedings.

In all Cases For Petitioners:

Mr.V.N.Subramaniam For Respondents:

Mr. Yogesh Kannadasan Additional Government Pleader COMMON ORDER (Order of the Court was made by Dr.G.Jayachandran J.) These Writ Petitions have been filed by a registered association claiming to be an association to represent the welfare of the landowners and farmers whose land were acquired by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited for the establishment of a crude oil refinery in Nagapattinam, under the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997. 2.

A vast extent of land was acquired and it appears that most of the landowners entered into private negotiations with the acquiring authority and settled the issue. However, under the guise of an association, the present writ petitions have been filed seeking adequate compensation by following the prescribed procedure to fix the market value and arrive at a fair compensation. 3.

Apparently the acquisition is not being challenged. Further, the demand for adequate and fair compensation was not made by the individual landowners, but by the association, which claims its members are the affected landowners.

The counter-affidavit filed by the respondents clearly show that the land was acquired for a public purpose following the due process of law and that the landowners have been adequately compensated. If at all any individual is aggrieved by the inadequacy of the compensation, they have a remedy under Section 8 of the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997, to seek a reference to the Court.

Since disputed questions of fact are involved, these writ petitions are not maintainable. The prayer in these writ petitions clearly show that the intention of the association is to stall the acquisition process by seeking a mandamus to prevent registration of any documents with respect to the land acquired till the disposal of the writ petition. The association submitted a representation to the Sub-Registrar making a similar request soon after filing these writ petitions.

We find no bona fides in these writ petitions. Furthermore, the association has no locus standi to file these petitions, when the matter relates to the personal rights of individuals who are entitled to agitate their cause independently under Section 7 of the Act.

For these reasons, we find no merit in these writ petitions. Accordingly, these Writ Petitions stand dismissed. Consequently, the connected

Miscellaneous Petitions are closed. No costs. The dismissal of these writ petitions will not stand in the way of individual landowners from seeking for appropriate remedies under the relevant provisions of law. (G.J.,J.) (S.S.A.,J.) 11-03-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order rpl To

1. The Secretary State of Tamil Nadu Home Department, Fort St. George Chennai Tamil Nadu

2. The Additional Chief Secretary, State of Tamil Nadu Industries Investment Promotion and Commerce (MIA-1) Department, Fort st. George, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

3. The commissioner, Land Administration Department, 2nd Floor Ezhilagam, Chepauk, Chenani, Tamil Nadu.

4. The District Collector Nagapattinam District, Nagapattinam Tamil Nadu 611 003.

5. The Land Acquisition Officer District Revenue Officer, Collectorate, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 611 003

6. Special Tahsildar (CPCL land Acquisition) Special Tahsildar Office Unit 4 District Collector Office First Floor, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 611 003.

7. Special Tahsildar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Tahsildar Office Unit-1, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 611 001.

8. Special Tahsildar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Tahsildar Office Unit-2, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 611 001.

9. Special Tahsildar (CPCL Land Acquisition) Special Tahsildar Office Unit-3, Revenue Divisional Office, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu 611 001.

10.The Sub Registrar Nagoor Sub Registrar Office, Nagoor, Nagapattinam District

DR.G.JAYACHANDRAN J.

and SHAMIM AHMED J.

rpl WP Nos. 27986 of 2021, 21658, 6740 & 21995 of 2022 and 18708 of 2024, and WMP Nos.29552 & 29553 of 2021, 20670, 6822, 21021 & 21022 of 2022, and 20523, 20520 & 20519 of 2024 11-03-2026