Chennai
The First Bench Comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan, while passing orders on a PIL seeking to remove all encroachments made in public lands at Periayakavanam village in Ponneri taluk, said: “It is the responsibility of the collectors of the area to ensure that public land is protected and not encroached upon. It does not require orders from the court. We would like to see actions at the collector level itself without intervention of the court to protect public land.”
Based on this, the bench directed the Chief Secretary to look into this aspect and entrust it to the officers concerned for a more effective monitoring mechanism that would scuttle all encroachments. The plea related to 13.75 acres of a grazing poromboke land allotted to Burmese refugees in 1971 which was abandoned by them owing to lack of infrastructure. But now, anti-social elements forming an association in the name of “Nethaji Burma Thamizhargal Nala Sangam” had started encroaching the area. The bench, stating that courts were being unnecessarily burdened with litigations pertaining to encroachments, where only administrative action was required, said: “We hope and trust this matter would be dealt with all seriousness by the government.”
Life term for acid attacker of girl upheld
The Madras High Court has upheld the life sentence awarded to an accused who poured acid on a girl, thereby causing her death.
The case relates to the death of one Vidya (21) employed at a browsing centre in Adhampakkam. The accused Vijay Baskar, suspected that the girl would cheat on him and marry someone, had gone to the browsing centre where she was working and poured acid on her. But since the acid did not fall on her face, he held her and rubbed her face with the acid which had spilled on the floor and had also manhandled her causing her death. She was first admitted to a private hospital and later transferred to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital where despite the treatment she died on Feb. 2, 2013. The trial was held by the Principal Sessions Judge, Kancheepuram District, at Chengalpattu and on Oct. 28, 2015 the accused was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment which he challenged by way of an appeal. Dismissing the criminal appeal, the division bench comprising Justice S. Nagamuthu and Justice V. Bharathidasan, said: “The prosecution has proved the case beyond all reasonable doubts. The trial court was right in giving life imprisonment.”
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