Disposed

Kumaravel v. The District Collector

Madras HC7 Jun 2024WP(MD)/10869/2024

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Petitioner sought issuance of house and water tax receipts for his dwelling house. The Court observed that while respondents are duty-bound to collect tax and provide water if the house exists, they can evict if the land was encroached. The petition was disposed of.

What did the court decide?

Petition disposed of with observations that respondents must collect tax if house exists but can evict if land encroached.

Kumaravel Vs The District Collector — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Madras HC (2024)

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

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Reserved On 05.06.2024 Pronounced On 07.06.2024

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CORAM

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THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE C.SARAVANAN

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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Kumaravel, S/o.Radhakrishnan

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... Petitioner

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Vs.

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1.The District Collector, Trichy District, Trichy.

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2.The Assistant Director of Panchayats, Trichy District, Trichy.

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3.The Block Development Officer, Uppiliyapuram Panchayat Union, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy.

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4.The President,

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T.Murungapatti Panchayat, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District. ... Respondents

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Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to issue house

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis ____________ Page No. 1 of 8_

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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and water tax receipts with respect to the petitioner's dwelling house bearing Door No.2/532 in S.No.348/3, situated at T.Murungapatti Village, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District, within a stipulated time as fixed by this Court.

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For Petitioner : Mr.V.G.Chezhiyan For R1 & R2 : Mrs.S.Jeyapriya Government Advocate

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For R3 and R4 : Mr.Muthuvijayan Special Government Pleader

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O R D E R

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This Writ Petition has been filed for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to issue house and water tax receipts with respect to the petitioner's dwelling house bearing Door No. 2/532 in S.No.348/3, situated at T.Murungapatti Village, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District.

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2 . The petitioner's property bearing Door No.2/532 in S.No.348/3, situated at T.Murungapatti Village, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District, has been mentioned in the revenue records as Natham Poramboke. From the year 1981 onwards, the petitioner and his grandparents are in continuous possession and enjoyment of the above said property.

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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3 . According to the petitioner, for the last year i.e., 2023-2024, the

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fourth respondent has issued house tax and water tax receipts in respect of the subject property to him. When the petitioner approached the fourth respondent to pay the house tax and water tax for the year 2024-2025, the fourth respondent refused to receive the same stating that the last year tax details were not uploaded in online. Hence, the petitioner sent a detailed representation dated 03.04.2024 to the respondents 2 and 3, seeking to issue house tax and water tax receipts to him. However, the respondents 2 and 3 have not come forward to take action on the representation of the petitioner. Finally, on 07.04.2024, the petitioner has sent a representation to the first respondent. Thereafter, no response was forthcoming from the respondents. Hence, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of filing the present Writ Petition.

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4 . The petitioner claims that his family has been living on the

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subject land for over a period of 30 years. In this connection, the learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention to the report of the Village Panchayat President in his proceedings, dated 25.07.2001, which is extracted as under:-

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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5 . The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner's

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house is located 10 feet away from the compound wall of the School and that the petitioner's family has been in possession of the property all along. The learned counsel for the petitioner has also drawn the attention to Page No.12 of the Typed Set of Papers, indicating the receipts were

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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also issued by the Village Panchayat for water charges and collected on 01.04.2023.

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6 . The learned Special Government Pleader for the respondents 3 and 4, on the other hand, would submit that the petitioner had applied for Patta before the jurisdictional Tahshildar and the Tahsildar in his proceedings dated 17.03.2023, bearing Reference No.Na.Ka.A6/11296/2022, rejected the request of the petitioner after the direction of this Court in W.P.(MD)No.24137 of 2022, dated 04.11.2022.

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7 . It is submitted that the attempt of the petitioner to coerce the Tahsildar to issue Patta in favour of the petitioner by initiating Contempt Petition in Cont.P.(MD)No.699 of 2023 was also failed, as the said Contempt Petition was rejected by this Court on 13.06.2023. It is submitted that the petitioner cannot expect to issue house tax and water tax receipts for the property, as the land in question is a Government Poramboke land meant for the School to be used as a playground. It is therefore, submitted that the Writ Petition is liable to be dismissed.

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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8 . Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned

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Government Advocate for the respondents 1 and 2 and the learned Special Government Pleader for the respondents 3 and 4 and perused the materials on record.

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9 . As long as the house exists, the respondents are duty bound to provide water connection and collect property tax from the petitioner. However, it would not preclude the respondents to evict the petitioner in the manner known to law, if the land was encroached by the petitioner. By not collecting tax and other charges, the respondent is depriving the revenue to the local body and serves neither the cause of the respondents or the petitioner.

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10 . This Writ Petition is disposed of with the above observation. No costs.

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Index : Yes/ No 07.06.2024 Neutral Citation: Yes / No Speaking Order / Non-Speaking Order

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1.The District Collector, Trichy District, Trichy.

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https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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Page No. 6 of 8

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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2.The Assistant Director of Panchayats, Trichy District, Trichy.

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3.The Block Development Officer, Uppiliyapuram Panchayat Union, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy.

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4.The President,

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T.Murungapatti Panchayat, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District.

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W.P.(MD) No.10869 of 2024

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C.SARAVANAN, J.

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smn2

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W.P.(MD)No.10869 of 2024

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07.06.2024

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Kumaravel v. The District Collector

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Kumaravel v. The District Collector

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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