E.Ranganathan Vs the Commissioner — Municipal and Town Planning | Madras HC (2025)

E.Ranganathan Vs the Commissioner — Municipal and Town Planning | Madras HC (2025)

W.P.No.33325 of 2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 04.09.2025

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE MUMMINENI SUDHEER KUMAR

W.P.No.33325 of 2025 and

W.M.P. No.37467 of 2025 in W.P. No.33325 of 2025

1.E.Ranganathan

2.D.Lakshmi

... Petitioners

Vs.

1.The Commissioner, The Greater Chennai Corporation, Ripon Building, Chennai – 600 003.

2.The Executive Engineer, Division II, Manali, The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.1, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai – 600 068.

3.The Assistant Executive Engineer/U-5,

The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.3573, TNHB Layout,

2^nd Main Road, Mathur, Chennai – 600 068.

4.The Assistant Engineer,

Division 19,

The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.3573, TNHB Layout,

2^nd Main Road, Mathur, Chennai – 600 068. ... Respondents

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Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records of the respondents 2 to 4 and quash the show cause notice Z.O.II.C.No.01/2025 and Z.O.II.C.No.02/2025 dated 08.04.2025 relating to the land and residential house at Nos.4/280 and 2/294, Ellatharasi Street, Kamarajar Salai, Manjambakkam, Chennai – 600 060 in Survey No.93 and further direct the respondents not to take any coercive steps in evicting the petitioners from their respective land and houses in Survey No.93, Manjambakkam Village, Chennai – 600 060.

For Petitioners : Mr.G.Palani

For Respondents : Mr.G.T.Subramanian, Standing Counsel

ORDER

[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J. ,]

Subject matter of captioned 'Writ Petition' [hereinafter 'WP' for the sake of brevity] is alleged encroachment in 'Survey No.93, Nos.4/280 and 2/294, Ellatharasi Street, Kamarajar Salai, Manjambakkam Village, Chennai – 600 060' [hereinafter 'said land' for the sake of convenience and clarity].

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2. Captioned WP inter alia impugns 'notices dated 08.04.2025

bearing reference Z.O.II.C.No.01/2025 and Z.O.II.C.No.02/2025 issued by first respondent (Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai)' [hereinafter 'impugned notices' collectively for the sake of convenience and clarity] under Section 128 of 'The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 (Act 9 of 1999)' [hereinafter 'the TNULB Act' for the sake of brevity]. By the impugned notices, the petitioners have been inter alia directed to remove the alleged encroachment made by them in the said land.

Adverting to impugned notices, Mr.G.Palani, learned counsel

for writ petitioners submits that writ petitioners have not been showcaused though the impugned notices say that the notices have been issued under Section 128 of TNULB Act.

4. Issue notice to official respondents.

Mr.G.T.Subramanian, learned Standing Counsel, accepts notice

for all four respondents.

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6. Learned Standing Counsel submits that there is alleged encroachment and that has necessitated the impugned notices.

7. Owing to the limited scope of the captioned main WP, main WP was taken up in the Admission Board with the consent of learned counsel on both sides.

Before we proceed further, we deem it appropriate to extract and reproduce Section 128 (in its entirety) of the TNULB Act as

it stands today and the same reads as under:

'128. Power to remove encroachment from public place. -

(1) The Commissioner may, -

(a) remove without any notice any movable temporary structure, enclosure, stall, booth, any article whatsoever hawked, exposed or displayed for sale or any other thing whatsoever by way of encroaching street, public place, water body, tank, other water resources or any land belonging to or vested with the municipality with the municipal limit;

(b) remove any immovable structure whether permanent or of temporary nature encroaching street, public place, water body, tank, other water resources or any land belonging to municipality or vested with the

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W.P.No.33325 of 2025

municipality within the municipal limit, after issuing a show cause notice for such removal, returnable within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt thereof:

Provided that the Commissioner shall consider any representation received within the time limit, before passing final orders.

(2) Whoever makes any encroachment in any land or space (not being private property) in any public street, water body, tank, other water resources or any land belonging to or vested with the municipality within the municipal limit, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees:

Provided that the Court may, for any adequate or special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than one year.'

(underlining made by us for ease of reference)

Though the impugned notices read that the impugned

notices are under Section 128 of TNULB Act, as matter on hand pertains to immovable structure, writ petitioners should be given 15 days time to respond to impugned notices and thereafter, first respondent should pass final orders considering such response. However, the impugned notices straightaway call upon the writ petitioners to remove the alleged encroachment within seven days from the date of receipt of the impugned notice. A scanned reproduction of the impugned notices is as follows:

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10. From a perusal of the case file, it is also seen that the writ petitioners have responded to the impugned notices vide responses dated 15.07.2025, a scanned reproduction of which is as follows:

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11. Learned counsel for writ petitioners submits that contrary to the mechanism put in place vide Section 128(1)(b) of TNULB Act, impugned notices have been issued by first respondent.

In such view of the matter, the impugned notices are directed to be treated as a show cause notices (SCNs) served on the writ petitioners today and the petitioners' representations dated 15.07.2025 shall be considered as responses to the SCNs and final orders shall be passed by first respondent on merits and in accordance with law within a period of fifteen days from the date of uploading of the order in the official website of this Court. Further, the final orders Page Nos.16/19

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so passed shall be served on the writ petitioners within a period of five working days from the date of the final orders. If the final orders to be passed by first respondent are going to be adverse to the writ petitioners, the same shall be kept in abeyance for a fortnight from the date of service of the final orders on the writ petitioners so as to provide a window to the writ petitioners to assail the said orders if permissible in law or to seek judicial review of the said orders. If the writ petitioners do not do so within a fortnight from the date of service of the said orders, the final orders so passed by first respondent will be resuscitated and put into motion. If the final orders to be passed by first respondent ends up in favour of the writ petitioners, that would be curtains on the matter.

Captioned WP stands disposed of in the aforesaid manner. Consequently, captioned Writ Miscellaneous Petition (WMP) thereat stands disposed of as closed. There shall be no order as to costs.

Index : Yes / No Neutral Citation : Yes / No mmi

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To

1.The Commissioner, The Greater Chennai Corporation, Ripon Building, Chennai – 600 003.

2.The Executive Engineer, Division II, Manali, The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.1, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai – 600 068.

3.The Assistant Executive Engineer/U-5, The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.3573, TNHB Layout,

2^nd Main Road, Mathur, Chennai – 600 068.

4.The Assistant Engineer, Division 19,

The Greater Chennai Corporation, No.3573, TNHB Layout,

2^nd Main Road, Mathur, Chennai – 600 068.

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M.SUNDAR, J., and MUMMINENI SUDHEER KUMAR, J.,

mmi

W.P.No.33325 of 2025

04.09.2025

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