The High Court Of Judicature At Madras v. Radhalakshmi.K
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 03.09.2024
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE MR.D.KRISHNAKUMAR ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE P.B.BALAJI W.A.No.2646 of 2024 and C.M.P.No.19029 of 2024 High Court of Judicature at Madras, Rep. by its Registrar General, High Court, Madras.
... Appellant/3rd Party/3rd Party -vs1. K.Radhalakshmi ... 1st Respondent/Petitioner/4th Respondent
2. M/s.Rathna Hi Tech Engineering, Rep. by its Prop.J.Edwinnavis @ J.Edwin Thomas Telace Industrial Estate, No.3/88, Mount Poonamallee High Road, Ramavaram Village, Chennai-600 089 ... 2nd Respondent / 1stRespondent / Petitioner
3. The Secretary, Revenue Department, Secretarit, Fort St.George, Chennai-600 009.
... 3rd Respondent / 2nd Respondent / 1st Respondent
4. The District Collector, Thiruvallur, Thiruvallur District.
... 4th Respondent / 3rd Respondent / 2nd Respondent
5. The Tahsildar, Revenue Department, Ambattur, Thiruvallur District. ... 5th Respondent / 4th Respondent / 3rd Respondent 1/6
Prayer: Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of Letters Patent to set aside the observation and directions issued by this Court in the interim order dated 08.06.2023 made in Rev.Appln.(Writ) No.63 of 2023 in W.P.No.16131 of 2015. For Appellant :
Mr.S.Venugopal Raj For Mr.M.Santhana Raman For R1 :
Mr.P.Subbareddy For R3 to R5 :
Mr.A.Edwin Prabhakar State Government Pleader *****
J U D G M E N T
(By Hon'ble Acting Chief Justice) This Writ Appeal has been filed, aggrieved by the observation and directions issued by this Court in the interim order dated 08.06.2023 made in Rev.Appln.(Writ) No.63 of 2023 in W.P.No.16131 of 2015, wherein, in Paragraph Nos.13 and 14, it has been observed as follows: "13. Thus the Registry of the High Court is duty bound to ensure that all the respondents are treated equally and the final orders passed at the admission stage, are communicated to all the respondents, including the private respondents. Non-communication of the order copy only to the private respondents amounts to discrimination and in violation of the principles of natural justice. Those private respondents may be unaware of the Court orders and consequently deprived of their opportunity to represent or defend their case before any Forum or Competent Authorities.
14. In view of the above circumstances, the Registry of the High Court is directed to place a Note before My Lord Hon'ble The Chief Justice for passing appropriate orders."
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2. Mr.P.Subbareddy, learned counsel takes notice for R1 and Mr.A.Edwin Prabhakar, learned State Government Pleader for R3 to R5. By consent of the parties, the Writ Petition itself is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission.
3. When the matter is taken up for hearing, learned counsel for the parties clangorously apprised this Court that the direction issued by the Writ Court can be placed only before the Administrative Committee of this Court for taking a suitable decision in respect of communicating final orders to all the respondents, including private respondents.
4. Learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents 3 to 5 pointed out that it is true that private respondents may not be aware about cases, which are normally dismissed or disposed of with consent of the parties (respective petitioners and Official respondents present in the Court) at the admission stage and such orders are not communicated to the private respondents.
5. We are in the era of tech-savvy and due to technological advancement, any party (either Official respondents or private respondents) can download interim or final orders from the Official website of the High Court at their door step. Therefore, we 3/6
are of the view that the concerned Committee of this Court may explore the possibility of dispensation of both certified copy of the orders and communicating the same to the concerned respondents as well. Since it requires detailed discussions and deliberations, Registry is directed to place the above subject before the administrative side of the High Court for taking appropriate decision on the issue. Considering the fact that the Appellant/Registrar General cannot solely take a decision in this regard, in our view, the observations made in Paragraph Nos.13 and 14 are hereby expunged. With the above observations and directions, this Writ Appeal is disposed of. It is made clear that except the above modification, the remaining portion of the interim order of the learned Single Judge stands unaltered. No costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.
[D.K.K.,ACJ.] [P.B.B,J.] 03.09.2024 Index: Yes / No Internet: Yes / No Speaking Order/Non Speaking Order ar 4/6
To:
1. The Secretary, Revenue Department, Secretarit, Fort St.George, Chennai-600 009.
2. The District Collector, Thiruvallur, Thiruvallur District.
3. The Tahsildar, Revenue Department, Ambattur, Thiruvallur District.
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HON'BLE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE, AND P.B.BALAJI,J., ar 03.09.2024 6/6