N.Saraswathi Vs The District Collector — Madras HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

N.Saraswathi Vs The District Collector — Madras HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ Petitions disposed of with directions: petitioners may submit explanation with documents within 10 days; respondents to consider the representation, take a decision and remove the encroachments by following procedures, completing the exercise within twelve weeks; no costs; connected miscellaneous petitions (W.M.P.Nos.24177 & 24181 of 2021) closed.

Issue for consideration

Whether the notice issued by the Highways Department in proceedings Na.Ka.No.7/2021/E.NI.U dated 13.09.2021 is illegal, incompetent and without jurisdiction and should be quashed.

Court's answer

The petitioners are at liberty to submit their explanation along with documents, if any, within a period of 10 days; on receipt of any such representation, the respondents shall consider the same.

Ratio / Principle

Thereafter the respondents shall take a decision and remove the encroachments by following the procedures; the exercise is directed to be completed within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

Key takeaways

Encroachments in Highways would cause obstruction to free flow of traffic; therefore, on account of increase of vehicular traffic, removal of encroachments in Highways property is imminent.obiter¶35
The authorities are bound to follow the procedures and evict the encroachments in Highways.ratio¶39

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Madras (S.M. Subramaniam J., author; C. Kumarappan J.) — Common order dated 23-01-2026 disposing of WP Nos. 22966 & 22974 of 2021 (petitioners N. Saraswathi and R. Dhandapani, Erode) which challenged, as illegal, incompetent and without jurisdiction, the Highways Department notice in Na.Ka.No.7/2021/E.NI.U dated 13.09.2021 concerning removal of identified encroachments in Highways property. Rather than quashing the notice, the Court directed that the petitioners may submit their explanation with documents within 10 days; on receipt, the respondents (District Collector, Erode; Assistant Divisional Engineer, Highways Department; Government of Tamil Nadu) shall consider it, take a decision and remove the encroachments by following the procedures, completing the exercise within twelve weeks of receipt of a copy of the order. No costs; connected W.M.P.Nos.24177 & 24181 of 2021 closed. The Special Government Pleader submitted this was a second round of litigation, an earlier challenge having been filed in 2010.

WP No. 22966 of 2021

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 23-01-2026

CORAM THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE S. M. SUBRAMANIAM AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE C.KUMARAPPAN

WP No. 22966 of 2021 & WP NO. 22974 OF 2021 and

W.M.P.Nos.24177 & 24181 of 2021

N.SaraswathiW/o.Late Natarjan, 139, Athani Road, Opp.LIC, Sathiyamangalam, Erode -638401

..Petitioner(s)

Vs

The District CollectorState Highway 96, Opp.District court, Palayapalayam, Erode

Assistant Divisional EngineerHighways Department, Sathiyamangalam, Erode District

The Government of Tamil NaduRep by the secretary, Revenue Department , Fort St.George, Chennai-600009

..Respondent(s)

WP No. 22974 of 2021

R.DhandapaniS/o.Ramasamy, 69, Athani Road, Opp.LIC, Sathiyamangalam, Erode -638401

..Petitioner(s)

Vs

The District CollectorState Highway 96, Opp.District court, Palayapalayam, Erode

Assistant Divisional EngineerHighways Department, Sathiyamangalam, Erode District

The Government of Tamil NaduRep by the secretary, Revenue Department , Fort St.George, Chennai-600009

..Respondent(s)

To call for the records on the file of the 2nd respondent in Na.Ka.No.7/2021/ E.NI.U/ dated 13.9.2021 and quash the same as illegal, incompetent and without jurisdiction

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WP No. 22966 of 2021

WP No. 22974 of 2021

To call for the records on the file of the 2nd respondent in Na.Ka.No.7/2021/ E.NI.U/ dated 13.9.2021 and quash the same as illegal, incompetent and without jurisdiction.

WP No. 22966 of 2021

For Petitioner(s): Ms.Dharanee.K. For Mrs.Srimathi.V And Avinasgh Wadhawani For Respondent(s): Mr.A.Selvendiran, Sgp For RR1 to 3.

COMMON ORDER

(Order of the Court was made by S.M.Subramaniam J.)

The notice issued by the Highways Department in proceedings dated

13.09.2021 is under challenge in the present writ proceedings.

The authorities of Highways Department, during inspection identified the encroachments in Highways property. Thus, enforcement action was initiated for removal of encroachments.

Learned Special Government Pleader would submit that it is a second round of litigation. Challenging the earlier enforcement action, writ petition was filed in the year 2010 and the authorities are unable to complete the eviction proceedings for the past about 1½ decades. The present writ petitions are also pending for about four years.

Encroachments in Highways would cause obstruction to free flow of traffic. Therefore, on account of increase of vehicular traffic ,removal of

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WP No. 22966 of 2021

encroachments in Highways property are imminent. Thus, the authorities are bound to follow the procedures and evict the encroachments in Highways. The

present writ petitions have been filed challenging the notice. Thus, the petitioners are at liberty to submit their explanation along with the documents

if any, within a period of 10 days from today. On receipt of any such representation, the respondents shall consider the same and thereafter, take a decision and remove the encroachments by following the procedures. Such exercise is directed to be completed within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Accordingly, the Writ Petitions are disposed of. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.

(S.M.S.,J.) (C.K.,J.) 23-01-2026

Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No

VSI

To

The District Collector, State Highway 96, Opp.District court, Palayapalayam, Erode

Assistant Divisional EngineerHighways Department, Sathiyamangalam, Erode District

The Government of Tamil NaduRep by the secretary, Revenue Department , Fort St.George, Chennai-600009

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WP No. 22966 of 2021

S.M.SUBRAMANIAM J. AND C.KUMARAPPAN J.

VSI

WP No. 22966 of 2021 AND WP NO. 22974 OF 2021

23-01-2026

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