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The District Collector, v. C.Jothi

Madras HC10 Nov 2025/3419/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Conditional assignment patta; free house-site assignment year 2000; violation of assignment conditions; resumption and reassignment of Government land to eligible persons; Revenue Standing Orders; landless poor; thatched hut versus pucca residence elsewhere; Special Tahsildar (ADW) Namakkal; District Collector Namakkal; District Backward Class and Minority Welfare Officer; Revenue Divisional Officer Namakkal; writ appeal under Clause 15 Letters Patent against W.P.Nos.12025 & 12016 of 2024; C.M.P.Nos.27938 & 27939 of 2025; decided 10.11.2025.

What did the court decide?

Writ order dated 27.06.2024 passed in W.P.Nos.12025 and 12016 of 2024 set aside; Writ Appeals Nos.3419 and 3420 of 2025 allowed; no costs; connected C.M.P.Nos.27938 and 27939 of 2025 closed. ¶38

The District Collector, Vs C.Jothi — Madras HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ order dated 27.06.2024 passed in W.P.Nos.12025 and 12016 of 2024 set aside; Writ Appeals Nos.3419 and 3420 of 2025 allowed; no costs; connected C.M.P.Nos.27938 and 27939 of 2025 closed.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the respondents/writ petitioners complied with the conditions of the free-of-cost conditional assignment, i.e., whether the assigned land was utilised for residential purposes and whether they were landless poor persons residing on the assigned land. +1 more

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Court's answer

Government lands allotted at free of cost cannot be utilised for any purpose other than the purpose for which they were allotted under the Revenue Standing Orders.

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Ratio / Principle

Under the conditional assignment, violation of any assignment condition entails cancellation of the assignment and resumption of the Government land; the respondents accepted this condition when securing the free assignment.

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Key takeaways

On field inspection the respondents/writ petitioners were found not to be residing on the assigned land but in their own houses in another place; the assigned land was not utilised for residential purpose except for a small thatched hut put up to show nominal compliance.ratio¶33
Since the assignment conditions were violated and the Government lands were already resumed and reassigned to other eligible persons, the writ order impugned cannot be sustained; accordingly the writ order dated 27.06.2024 in W.P.Nos.12025 and 12016 of 2024 is set aside and the writ appeals are allowed.ratio¶38

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Madras High Court (Division Bench: S.M. Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq, JJ.) allows W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent and sets aside the writ order dated 27.06.2024 in W.P.Nos.12025 and 12016 of 2024, by which the Single Judge had sustained conditional assignments of Government land made free of cost in 2000 for house-site purposes in favour of the respondents. Field inspection and photographs showed the assignees were not landless poor persons, were residing in their own pucca two-storey house elsewhere, and had erected only a small thatched hut on the assigned land to show nominal compliance. The assignment had already been cancelled and the land resumed and reassigned to other eligible persons by the Special Tahsildar, Namakkal. Held: Government land allotted free of cost cannot be used for any purpose other than that for which it was allotted under the Revenue Standing Orders, and violation of assignment conditions entails cancellation and resumption. Connected C.M.Ps closed; no costs.

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

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DATED : 10.11.2025

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CORAM

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THE HON'BLE Mr. JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM AND THE HON'BLE Mr. JUSTICE MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 AND C.M.P.Nos.27938 & 27939 of 2025

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1.The District Collector Namakkal Namakkal District

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2.The District Backward Class and Minority Welfare Officer District Backward Class and Minority Welfare Office Namakkal Namakkal District

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3.The Revenue Divisional Officer O/o.The Revenue Divisional Officer Namakkal Namakkal District

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4.The Special Tahsildar (ADW) O/o.The Special Tahsildar Namakkal Namakkal District .. Appellants

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Vs.

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1\6

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

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025

C.Jothi

.. Respondent in

WA.3419/25

R.Mahalakshmi .. Respondent in WA.3420/25

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Writ Appeals filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent challenging the order dated 27.06.2024 passed in W.P.Nos.12025 and 12016 of 2024, respectively.

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For Appellants : Mr.T.Arunkumar in both WAs Additional Government Pleader For Respondent : Dr.R.Gowri in both WAs

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C O M M O N J U D G M E N T

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(Delivered by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.)

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Admittedly, assignment patta was issued to the respondents/writ petitioners

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in the year 2000. It is the conditional assignment made and lands are allotted at

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free of cost for construction of house for residential purpose. The Government

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lands allotted at free of cost, cannot be utilised for any other purpose other than 2\6

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

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 the purpose for which it was allotted under the Revenue Standing Orders. The conditional assignment states that residential houses must be constructed within a period of six months from the date of allotment, with setback areas as stated in the assignment order. In the event of violation of any of the assignment conditions, the order of assignment will be cancelled and the Government land will be resumed. Accepting the said condition, the respondents/writ petitioners secured assignment of Government land at free of cost.

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The competent authorities during inspection found that the respondents/ writ petitioners are not landless poor persons and they are residing in some other place. The lands allotted have not been utilised for residential purpose and a small thatched hut has been constructed by the respondents/writ petitioners, in order to show that the assignment conditions have been complied with.

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In this regard, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing on

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behalf of the appellants would submit a copy of the written instructions given by the District Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes Welfare Officer to the Government Pleader, dated 07.11.2025. Along with the instructions, photographs also enclosed. The District Backward Classes Welfare Officer would submit that 3\6

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

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 the respondents/writ petitioners are not residing in the land assigned to them and they are residing in their own houses in another place and the photograph of the said house also would show that it is a pucca concrete building, constructed in ground floor and first floor.

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The learned counsel for the respondents/writ petitioners would oppose by stating that the conditions stipulated in the assignments have been complied with. That apart, on the date of assignment, the respondents/writ petitioners were considered as landless poor persons and therefore, the assignment is sustained by the writ Court.

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This Court is of the considered view that the assignment granted in the name of the respondents/writ petitioners was cancelled and it was reassigned in favour of some other eligible persons by the Special Tahsildar, Namakkal. The instructions as well as photographs furnished by the learned Additional Government Pleader would show that the respondents/writ petitioners are not residing in the assigned land and the authorities while conducting field inspection found that the respondents/writ petitioners are residing in another place in their

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4\6

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

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 own building. Since the assignment conditions have been violated and the Government lands are already resumed and reassigned to other eligible persons, the writ order impugned cannot be sustained. Consequently, the writ order dated 27.06.2024 passed in W.P.Nos. 12025 and 12016 of 2024, is set aside and these Writ Appeals stand allowed. No costs. Connected C.M.Ps are closed.

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(S.M.S,J.) (M.S.Q, J.) 10.11.2025

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Index : Yes Neutral Citation : Yes/No gya

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

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W.A.Nos.3419 & 3420 of 2025 S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J. AND MOHAMMED SHAFFIQ, J.

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