M BHASKARAN REDDIAR Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR CUDDALORE DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer in the writ petition is for issuance of a writ of certiorari calling for the records of the first respondent which culminated in the order dated 11. 07. 2002 bearing No. W. 2/60266/2001 and to quash the same.

(2.) THE petitioner's case in short, as culled out from his affidavit is as under: based on the demands for acquisition of lands for Adi Dravidar and Harijan Welfare, the petitioner's parents and the petitioner himself as well had given huge extents of land during the years 1983, 1986, 1994 and 2000 without raising any objection and even without receipt of compensation in full in respect of which cases are still pending in courts. In addition to the above, certain extent of lands has also been given by the petitioner's father immediately after the country's independence, for the purpose of providing exclusive place of worship for the local Adi Dravidars. The extent of 14 acres of land, left out with the petitioner is partly wet and partly dry and has been let out on lease for cultivation of sugarcane for the purpose of supplying the same to the factory of a Company. While so, the petitioner, on 28. 08. 2001, had received a notice dated 09. 08. 2001 in Form-I from the Land Acquisition Officer proposing to acquire 7 acres of dry land which is the access to 7 acres of wet land, asking him to show cause against the same. In response, the petitioner had sent his objections on 11. 09. 2001 and 14. 02. 2002 to the first respondent and the same were rejected by the first respondent vide his order dated 11. 07. 2002, without even affording an opportunity of personal hearing and the main reasons for rejection being that (i) the petitioner's family owns 18. 61 acres and hence, the petitioner is not a small farmer, (ii) the petitioner's land has been chosen to settle the Adi Dravidars who have been uprooted from Tiruppapuliyur, (iii) the Samadhi of the petitioner's brother had been constructed in November 2001 to avoid land acquisition.

(3.) IN the counter filed by the first respondent, it has been stated that the order under challenge has been issued, keeping in mind, the need to provide house sites to 120 families living in objectionable poramboke lands in Tiruppapuliyur Town under the provisions of Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Welfare Schemes Act, 1978 (in short "the Act"); after complying with the formalities such as issuance of notice under Section 4 (1) of the Act in Form-I and completion of field inspection and enquiry under the Act, the Special Tahsildar (ADW) submitted necessary proposals to the Cuddalore District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer recommending the acquisition of petitioner's land measuring 2. 71. 0 hectares in Keezharungunam village and after due consideration of the records available and the objection filed by the petitioner, the objection petition filed by the petitioner was rejected by way of order under challenge.