Subbiah Vs The District Collector — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

Subbiah Vs The District Collector — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Mandamus directions issued: the Thashildar, Thovalai Taluk to survey Survey No.733 after notice to all encroachers/interested parties within two months, and the Executive Officer, Aaralvaimozhi Town Panchayat to remove any encroachments found under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, the entire exercise to be completed within five months of receipt of the order; writ petition disposed of with no costs and the connected miscellaneous petition closed.

Issue for consideration

Whether respondents 1 to 5 should be directed to remove the illegal encroachment made by respondents 6 to 8 in Survey Nos.734/1 and 734/2, earmarked and reserved for public park, and in Survey No.733, classified as 'Odai', in Aralvaimozhi Town Panchayat, Thovalai, Kanyakumari District, by considering the petitioner's representation dated 19.01.2026. +1 more

Court's answer

The fourth respondent (Thashildar, Thovalai Taluk) is directed to conduct a survey after issuing notices to all the encroachers / interested parties including the private respondents; the survey exercise shall be done within two months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

Ratio / Principle

The scope of the writ petition is confined to Survey No.733 alone; the petitioner is given liberty to work out his rights independently in respect of the other survey numbers included in the writ prayer.

Key takeaways

If encroachments are noticed, the fifth respondent (Executive Officer, Aaralvaimozhi Town Panchayat) shall remove the encroachments as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, and the entire exercise shall be completed within five months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.ratio¶34

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ of mandamus under Article 226 filed by Subbiah seeking removal of encroachments allegedly made by respondents 6 to 8 (Sakthivel, Chandramohan @ Raja and Selvamani) in Survey Nos.734/1 and 734/2, earmarked and reserved for public park and transferred in the name of the Executive Officer, Aaralvaimozhi Town Panchayat vide document No.688/2006, and in Survey No.733, classified as 'Odai', in Aralvaimozhi Town Panchayat, Thovalai, Kanyakumari District, by considering the petitioner's representation dated 19.01.2026. At hearing, the petitioner confined the scope of the petition to Survey No.733 alone, with liberty retained to pursue the other survey numbers independently, and the learned Special Government Pleader conceded that Survey No.733 has been classified as 'water body'. Notice to respondents 6 to 8 was dispensed with considering the nature of relief. The Division Bench (G.R.Swaminathan and B.Pugalendhi, JJ.) directed the fourth respondent (Thashildar, Thovalai Taluk) to conduct a survey after issuing notices to all encroachers/interested parties within two months of receipt of the order, and, if encroachments were noticed, the fifth respondent (Executive Officer, Aaralvaimozhi Town Panchayat) to remove them as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, the entire exercise to be completed within five months. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly without costs and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.