S PALANISAMY Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR COIMBATORE DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE writ petition is filed challenging the notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Lands For Harijan Welfare Schemes Act, 1978.

(2.) THE land owners have raised the following legal plea:-

(3.) WHILE admitting the writ petition on 28.6.2002, interim stay of dispossession alone has been ordered by F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla,J (as he then was) and the interim order has been made absolute by P.Sathasivam,J. (as he then was) on 5.9.2003. The matter was heard on 21.10.2003, 28.10.2003, 7.11.2003, 17.12.2008 and 22.12.2008 and on all those occasions, this court called upon the respondents to produce the records so as to verify whether an order has been passed by the District Collector, the first respondent herein in terms of Section 4(3)(b) of the Act. In spite of sufficient opportunity given to the respondents, the records have not been produced. Therefore, the legal plea taken by the petitioners that the first respondent has not passed an order independently in terms of Section 4(3)(b) stands unrebutted and confirmed by the statement made in paragraph 4 of the counter which has been extracted above. It states that the proposal with recommendation to over rule the objections that was forwarded by the authorised officer to the Collector has been approved. It is therefore apparent that no order has been passed independently by the District Collector as required by Section 4 of the Act 31 of 1978. This vitiates the acquisition proceedings. In view of clear violation of Section 4(3)(b ) of the Act, the impugned notification is liable to be set aside and accordingly set aside in so far as the petitioners' land is concerned. The writ petition is allowed. No costs.