Return land to Highways Department ,Madras HC directs encroacher

ased on a sale agreement dated August 31, 1998, executed by a person who had no title, K V Rathanam constructed a commercial building. Since then, he resisted the action initiated by the Highways Department for eviction all these years.

In 2006, Rathanam filed a writ petition forbearing the Highways Department from demolishing the building constructed on the land. But even as the department claimed ownership of the land, Rathanam initiated a string of litigations and obtained an interim order restraining it from taking possession.

Thereafter, a single judge arrived at a finding that the property belonged to the Highways Department. It termed Rathanam as an encroacher and dismissed the writ petition. Aggrieved by the order, he moved an intra court appeal, which came before a division bench comprising Justice KK Sasidharan and Justice R Subramanian.

Appearing for the State, Additional Advocate General A Kumar produced the ‘A’ register maintained by the Revenue Department to establish that the entire land owned by the then landowners in Survey No.150/1 and 150/2 were acquired under the Land Acquisition Act for creating the inner ring road under a project funded by the World Bank. He also submitted that the sub-divisions made fraudulently by the then tahsildar was cancelled.

Observing that the documents showed that the entire land was acquired by the government and that the Revenue Department officials initially abetted in the act of land grab, the bench said, “Rathanam succeeded in keeping possession of the land by constructing a non-residential building. The appellant, at all point of time, threatened the Highway officials that the High Court is seized of the matter and as such, it would not be possible for them to evict him from the subject premises.

Criticising the Highways Department for not initiating any steps to bring the writ petition for final hearing, the court blamed the officials of indirectly assisting Rathanam to keep in possession of the encroached. “The appellant has no right, title or interest in respect of the land owned by the Highways Department. He is a rank trespasser. The appellant stalled the statutory proceedings all these years. Now it is time for handing over possession to the Highways Department.”