SATHYABABU Vs. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As common and inter-related issues arise in these case, these matters are disposed of this common judgment.

(2.) The petitioners herein are essentially aggrieved by the impugned action of the respondent officials concerned, more particularly, that of notified Engineers of the National Highway Division of the State Public Works Department, in issuing the impugned notices purportedly under Section 26 (2) of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act , 2002 directing the petitioners to vacate the properties concerned on the ground that they have allegedly encroached into the public property/PWD road, even though the petitioners are in occupation only of lands within their lawful title. In this regard, the basic contention of the petitioners is that the petitioners are in occupation only in respect of their registered land holdings as per their titles and lawful possession and that they have not entered even into one square inch of Government properties/ PWD road and that no survey and measurements have been done with prior notice to the petitioners to ascertain whether the petitioners have encroached into any Government Properties or puramboke property/PWD road and that the present impugned action is highly arbitrary and illegal. Further it is also urged by the petitioners that in case the respondents conduct any proper survey and measurement of the properties with due prior notice to the petitioners and identify the boundaries of the properties, then it would certainly be disclosed that the petitioners are in occupation only in respect of their registered land holdings as per their lawful title and that they have not encroached into even one square inch of Government land.

(3.) Heard Sri. M. Balagovindan, Advocate, Sri. Subhash Cyriac, Advocate, Sri. R.S. Kalkura, Advocate and Sri. J. Jayakumar, Advocate, who have appeared on behalf of the respective petitioners as well as Sri. Ayyappan Shankar, the learned Counsel for the respondent Attingal Municipality and Smt. A.C. Vidhya, the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondent State Authorities.