M.Chinnusamy v. The Secretary

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 12.09.2025 CORAM :

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. DHANDAPANI M.Chinnusamy ... Petitioner Vs.

1.The Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, Commercial Taxes of Registration Department, Secretariat, St. George Fort, Chennai - 600 009. 2.The Inspector General of Registration, No.100, Santhome High Road, Foreshore Estate, Chennai - 600 028.

3.The Deputy Inspector General of Registration, Salem Region, Salem.

4.The District Registrar, Namakkal.

5.The Sub Registrar, Tiruchengode, Namakkal District.

... Respondents Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of Writ of Mandamus, directing the 1st Page No.1 of 6

respondent to dispose the appeal filed by the petitioner within a stipulated time and consequently and to issue license with renewal to the petitioner.

For Petitioner : Mr.P.Babu For Respondents : Mr.R.Sasikumar Government Advocate *****

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking for a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the 1st respondent to dispose the appeal filed by the petitioner within a stipulated time and consequently, to issue license with renewal to the petitioner.

2. Mr.R.Sasikumar, learned Government Advocate, accepts notice on behalf of the respondents. In view of the consent expressed by the parties, this writ petition is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself.

3. The case of the petitioner is that he is a registered document writer with appropriate license and have been working as a document writer attached to the Sub Registrar's office in Tiruchengode SRO Page No.2 of 6

Namakkal Registration District. Whileso, a suprise inspection was conducted by the officials of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit, Namakkal along with the Deputy Inspection Official for Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri District at the office of the Sub-Registrar, Tiruchengode on 26.11.2020, at about 05.30 p.m. During the seach, a sum of Rs.6,06,030/- was seized from the petitioner under the assumption that it was intended for bribing the staff of the SubRegistrar's office, Tiruchengode. Thereafter, a Deputy Inspection Officer filed a complaint against the petitioner on 27.11.2020 and the same was registered as a case in Crime No.6/AC/2020 u/s 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in which, the petitioner was arrayed as A3. In response to the FIR, the 3rd respondent issued a show cause notice on 31.08.

2021, calling for explanation from the petitioner to explain as to why his document writer's license should not be cancelled, pursuant to which, the petitioner has sent a detailed reply on 20.09.2021, denying the allegations and clarifying that the amount seized was not a bribe but rather payments from his clients for services like ECS, stamp duty and registration fees. Despite his explanation, the 3rd respondent cancelled his license vide proceedings dated 15.11.2021 citing the reason that FIR was registered against the petitioner. Hence, the petitioner has Page No.

preferred an appeal before the 1st respondent on 11.04.2022, which has been pending for over two years and no order has been passed till date. Therefore, the petitioner has filed this writ petition before this Court for appropriate orders.

4. Though very many grounds have been raised in this writ petition, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that, it would suffice, if this Court, issues a direction to the 1st respondent to dispose the appeal filed by the petitioner, dated 11.04.2022 on merits and in accordance with law, within a time frame that may be stipulated by this Court.

5. Considering the limited request made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, this Court, without going into the merits of the case, directs the 1st respondent to consider the appeal filed by the petitioner dated 11.04.2022 and dispose of the same, on merits and in accordance with law, within a period of six (6) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, after affording an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner and aggrieved persons, if any. Page No.4 of 6

6. With the above direction, this Writ Petition is disposed of. No costs.

12.09.2025 Index : Yes / No Speaking order / Non-speaking order sp To 1.The Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, Commercial Taxes of Registration Department, Secretariat, St. George Fort, Chennai - 600 009. 2.The Inspector General of Registration, No.100, Santhome High Road, Foreshore Estate, Chennai - 600 028.

3.The Deputy Inspector General of Registration, Salem Region, Salem.

4.The District Registrar, Namakkal.

5.The Sub Registrar, Tiruchengode, Namakkal District.

Page No.5 of 6

M.DHANDAPANI, J.

sp 12.09.2025 Page No.6 of 6