S.MUTHUKUMAR Vs. CHIEF SECRETARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By consent, the writ petition is taken up for final disposal. The petitioner claims to be a permanent resident at Door No.1/109, Perumal Koil Street, Adayalampattu Village, Maduravoyal Taluk, Thiruvallur District. In the present writ petition, styled as a Public Interest Litigation, he avers that he is a social worker, functioning exclusively for the upliftment of poor and downtrodden people, especially for the rights of people belonging to Schedule Caste community. It is stated by the petitioner that in the said village, people belonging to Schedule Caste community are living for more than five generations and most of the people belonging to the said community, including the petitioner, do not have any permanent dwelling place or house and some of them are living even on platforms and that the said village is classified as "Village Slum" (in tamil, "Cheri Natham") and all of them are eking out their livelihood as daily coolies. The petitioner, on behalf of the villagers, submitted several representations to the Government to allot lands in Survey Nos.34/1A and 41/1, admeasuring to an extent of 21/4 acres and despite very many repeated representations, no proper response is forthcoming.

(2.) The petitioner, in Paragraph No.9 of the affidavit filed in support of this petition, would aver that the 7th respondent had purchased 2.83 acres of land in Survey Nos.41/2, 34/2 and 14 cents of land in S.No.34/1A and that there are documents in favour of the 7th respondent with regard to the said lands. Since the said lands are classified as "Village Slum (Cheri Natham)", the 7th respondent is not entitled to purchase and get patta in respect of the said lands and that apart, the 7th respondent is also in illegal occupation of 1 acre and 63 cents and has also put a compound wall. The petitioner has also invoked the provisions under Right to Information Act and has sought information and thereafter, came forward to file this writ petition, praying for cancellation of patta granted to the 7th respondent as well as for removal of encroachments on the part of the very same respondent in respect of the land admeasuring to the extent of 1 acre and 63 cents. It is also the claim of the petitioner that the 7th respondent has produced bogus documents to obtain patta and it is nothing but, adoption of fraudulent means and therefore, the petitioner prays for appropriate orders.

(3.) M/s.M.Udaya Bhanu, learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of this Court to the typed set of documents, especially to the information obtained under the Right to Information Act and would submit that the 7th respondent was issued with patta in respect of lands in Survey No.41/2 admeasuring to an extent of 0.35.50 acres and in Survey No.34/1B admeasuring to an extent of 0.30.50 acres in Adayalampattu Village, Maduravoyal Taluk, Thiruvallur District. The learned counsel submits that though the said lands have been classified as "Rayathuvaari", actually, it is a "Village Slum (Cheri Natham)" and since the 7th respondent managed to get title in respect of the said lands through fraudulent means and managed to get patta, it should be cancelled forthwith and that apart, the illegal occupation of the 7th respondent in the said lands admeasuring to an extent of 1 acre 63 cents has to be removed forthwith and hence, prays for appropriate orders.