M.Jeevitha v. The District Collector,
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 08-01-2026
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V. LAKSHMINARAYANAN and WMP No. 55782 of 2025 M.Jeevitha Petitioner(s) Vs.
1. The District Collector, Chennai District.
2.The Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, Ripon Building, Chennai 600 003.
3.The Executive Engineer, Zone-9, Greater Chennai Corporation, No.8, 4th Cross Street, Chennai 600 034.
4.The Assistant Engineer, Zone-9, Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai.
5.The Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, No.76, Mount Salai, Guindy, Chennai 600 032.
6.The District Environmental Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chennai District Office.
7.The Inspector Of Police, 1/7
E-4, Abhiramapuram Police Station, Chennai.
8.M/s.Veecons Estates Pvt. Ltd., Rep By Its Managing Director, No.17/12, Unit No.3B, Ganapathy Street, Royapettah, Chennai 600 014.
Respondent(s) PRAYER directing the respondents 1 to 7 not to permit or allow the 8th respondent to carry on any kind of construction or allied activities, including unloading of materials, operation of machinery or movement of heavy vehicles at the premises situated at New No.52, old No.33, Abhiramapuram 3rd street, Alwarpet, Chennai-600 018, during night hours between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. and to ensure strict enforcement of noise, environmental and civic regulations.
For Petitioner(s):
Mr.E.V.Chandru @E.Chandrasekaran For Respondent(s):
Mr.A.M.Ayyadurai GA - R1 Ms.Lavanya For Mr.E.C.Ramesh -SC - RR2 to 4.
Mr.V.Gunasekar, SC - RR5 & 6.
Mr.Meganathan - GA(Crl.Side)-R7 Mr.KRavi Anantha Padmanabhan For Mr.Dayanand - R8
O R D E R
Heard Mr.E.V.Chandru for the petitioner, Mr.A.M.Ayyadurai for 1st respondent, Ms.Lavanya for Mr.E.C.Ramesh for 2nd to 4th respondents, Mr.V.Gunasekar for 5th and 6th respondents, Mr.Meganathan for 7th respondent, and Mr.KRavi Anantha Padmanabhan for Mr.S.Dayanand for 8th respondent/private respondent.
2/7
2. The issue presented in the writ petition is an extremely short one. The petitioner is a resident of Abhiramapuram 3rd street in Chennai. The 8th respondent is a Builder by profession. It started demolishing the property situated at Door No.52, in the same street (Abhiramapuram 3rd street), for the purpose of putting up a new superstructure. The petitioner alleges that the demolition and re-construction activities have been carried on through the night and this resulted, inter-alia, in loss of sleep & peace. She pleads the activities if continued would pose significant risk to the human life and result in public nuisance. Furthermore, the petitioner alleges, on account of the unscientific manner of demolition without safety precautions, it has resulted in falling of concrete debris onto her property. The petitioner had approached all the respondents seeking redressal for her grievance. With no action forthcoming, she came before this Court by this writ petition.
3. When the writ petition came up for hearing, I called upon Mr.Meganathan to verify and submit a report to this Court. I posted the matter yesterday(7.1.2026).
3/7
4. When I took up the matter for hearing yesterday, Mr.Meganathan submitted that one Mr.Karthick, a Director of the 8th respondent company, had undertaken before the 7th respondent that he will not indulge in any construction activities between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., and that no activities of the 8th respondent would cause inconvenience to any of the residents in the locality.
5. Mr.Ravi Anantha Padmanabhan submitted that the 8th respondent is a builder, who has been in the trade for more than 40 years and has completed several housing projects, without giving raise to any complaint, from any quarter. He states that it is not the intention of the 8th respondent to cause nuisance to the residents of the 3rd street of Abhiramapuram, but that he was constrained to work during the night, due to the restriction imposed by the police. According to him, this restriction prevents heavy vehicles from travelling into the city from 6.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. In order to comply with the direction of the police, such vehicles are engaged at night and construction activities go on during that period. He submitted that he will file the affidavit today.
6. When I took up the matter, Mr.Dayanand has filed the affidavit on behalf of the 8th respondent. The 8th respondent has stated that he will not proceed with the construction from 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m., except for certain 4/7
specific work, like, concreting, loading and unloading, which are permitted and can be done only during night hours. While this should put an end to the grievance of the writ petitioner, if the submission of Mr.Ravi Anantha Padmanabhan is accepted, then there remains a possibility of the construction activities going on in the dead of the night. At the same time, the interest of the Builder should also be taken into consideration.
7. Hence, Mr.Meganathan was called upon to get instructions from Mr.Suresh Varma, Sub Inspector of Police, B4, Abhiramapuram Police Station, who is present in Court, as to whether the police will be willing to relax the timings to enable the Builder to carry on the limited activities specified in paragraph No.7 of the affidavit. Mr.Meganathan states that the police are agreeable to permit the 8th respondent to commence the activities from 4.30 a.m. and continue the same till 10.00 p.m. in the night. The statement of Mr.Suresh Varma made through Mr.Meganathan is recorded. The undertaking given in paragraph No.7 is taken on file. The 8th respondent shall commence concreting, loading and unloading, concreting from 4.30 a.m. and cease the work on or before 10.00 p.m. The 8th respondent shall ensure that this activity should not cause any nuisance and result in pollution to the residents in the neighbourhood. 5/7
8. This writ petition is disposed of. No costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
08-01-2026 Index:Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Maya To
1. The District Collector, Chennai District.
2.The Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, Ripon Building, Chennai 600 003.
3.The Executive Engineer, Zone-9, Greater Chennai Corporation, No.8, 4th Cross Street, Chennai 600 034.
4.The Assistant Engineer, Zone-9, Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai.
5.The Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, No.76, Mount Salai, Guindy, Chennai 600 032.
6.The District Environmental Engineer, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chennai District Office.
7.The Inspector Of Police, E-4, Abhiramapuram Police Station, Chennai.
6/7
V.LAKSHMINARAYANAN J.
Maya Dated : 08-01-2026 7/7