Janaki v. Mr. Murugesan,
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 05.06.2026
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN and THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE S.SRIMATHY in W.P.(MD)No.11609 of 2025 Janaki ... Petitioner Vs.
Murugesan, Block Development Officer, Thiruvidaimaruthur Panchayat Union, Thiruvidaimaruthur Thanjavur District.
... Respondent PRAYER : Contempt Petition filed under Section 11 of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971, to punish the contemnor herein for committing contempt for his willful and deliberate disobedience of the order passed by this Court in W.P.(MD).No.11609 of 2025 dated 23-04-2025. 1/4
For Petitioner : Mr.R.Ponkarthikeyan For Respondent : Mr.M.Kannan, Government Advocate.
ORDER
(By G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.) Since the Block Development Officer does not have the power to remove the encroachment, direction should not have been used against him at all in the first instance. Therefore, this contempt petition is not maintainable. Be that as it may, we direct the jurisdictional Tahsildar to conduct an inquiry into the petitioner's representation. It is stated that O.S.No.175 of 2025 has been filed by the alleged encroachers. The encroachers can be given reasonable breathing time of three months to obtain injunction order from the jurisdictional Civil Court. If an injunction order is not obtained from the jurisdictional Civil Court, it is for the Tahsildar to remove the encroachment. If the Tahsildar is prima facie satisfied that there is encroachment, notice under Section 7 of the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905 shall be issued and shall be followed by further orders as per the statute. 2/4
2.With the aforesaid direction to the jurisdictional Tahsildar, this contempt petition is closed.
(G.R.S. J.,) & (S.S.Y. J.,) 05.06.2026 NCC : Yes/No Index : Yes / No Internet : Yes/ No ias To:
Murugesan, Block Development Officer, Thiruvidaimaruthur Panchayat Union, Thiruvidaimaruthur Thanjavur District.
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G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.
and S.SRIMATHY , J.
ias in W.P.(MD)No.11609 of 2025 05.06.2026 4/4