Madras High Court, W.P.No.24919 of 2025, decided 09.07.2025 by M.Sundar, J. (order made by him) and Hemant Chandangoudar, J. Petitioner Sivaraj sought a writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India directing official respondents 1 to 3 (District Collector, Tiruppur District; Sub-Collector-cum-Revenue Divisional Officer, Dharapuram Taluk; Tahsildar, Dharapuram Taluk) to remove the encroachment allegedly made by private fourth respondent Palanisamy in the pathway in S.F.No.2187/14, Aalaampalayam Village, Dharapuram Taluk, Tiruppur District, by considering the petitioner's representation dated 13.11.2024. With consent of both sides the WP was taken up and disposed of at the Admission Board stage without notice to the alleged encroacher. Adverting to G.O.(Ms)No.64, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Land Disposal Wing, dated 08.02.2022 ('said GO'), which puts in place a Removal of Encroachment procedure inter alia giving opportunity to the alleged encroacher, and wherein (per State counsel) Divisional Monitoring Committee, District Monitoring Committee and State Steering Committee have been constituted for a single point reporting/monitoring system qua Government lands, the Court referred the matter to and directed the jurisdictional Divisional Monitoring Committee headed by R2 to examine whether there is encroachment qua the said land and, if it so concludes, to report the encroachment to appropriate authorities for further action (for removal). As a safety valve for disposal without notice to the alleged encroacher, all rights and contentions of the alleged encroacher are preserved for raising before the Committee on their own merits, in accordance with law, untrammelled by these proceedings; the entire exercise to be completed within 14 weeks, i.e., by 15.10.2025. The Court expressly expressed no view or opinion on whether encroachment subsists, leaving that factual call to the Committee; the exercise expressly does not apply to patta land and applies only to public land where encroachment subsists. Liberty given to the writ petitioner or anyone concerned to return to the Court on the same issue, even with a similar/same prayer, upon change of circumstances. Disposed with aforementioned observations and directives; no order as to costs.
