R.T.Suresh vs THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU

Court
Madras High Court

WP No. 40457 of 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 04-11-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE P.T. ASHA
WP No. 40457 of 2026
CNR:{HCMA012187812026}
AND
WMP NO. 45415 OF 2026,WMP NO. 45417 OF 2026,WMP NO. 45418 OF
2026
1. R.T.Suresh
S/o. Late. Thangaraj,
No.2, Ramanisalai,
8th Cross street,
Brindavan Road, Salem 636 016
2. T.Kalarani
W/o. Late. Thangaraj,
No.2, Ramanisalai,
8th Cross street,
Brindavan Road, Salem 636 016
..Petitioner(s)
Vs
1. The State Of Tamil Nadu
Rep. by its Principal secretary to Government,
Housing and Urban Development department,
Fort St.George, Secretariat,
Chennai 09
2. The District collector
Salem District,
Fort Main Road,
Salem 636 005
3. The commissioner
Salem City Municipal corporation,
Salem 636 001
4. The Tamil Nadu Housing board
Rep. by its Managing Director,
CMDA complex, E and C Market Road,
Koyambedu, Chennai 107
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
5. The Executive engineer and Administrative
officer
Salem Housing unit, Tamil Nadu Housing
board,
Ayyanthirumaligai Road,
Salem 636 008
6. The Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition )
Suburban scheme,
Salem 636 001
..Respondent(s)
Prayer: calling for the records relating to the impugned letter issued by the 5th
respondent in Letter No. LA1/ 146/ 2022 dated 28.07.2026 quash the same and
consequently direct the respondents, their men, agents and subordinates to
refrain from dispossessing the petitioners from the land measuring an extent of
2.72 Acres in T.s.Nos. 1/3, 1/4, 2/3, 2/4, 2/10, 2/11A and 2/13 of Allagapuram
pudur Village, Salem , except by due process of law.
For Petitioner(s): M/S.S.Saravanan
For Respondent(s): Ms.Inthu Karunakaran
Special Government Pleader SPL GP R1 & R2
ORDER
This Writ Petition has been filed for the following reliefs:-
“calling for the records relating to the impugned letter issued by the 5th
respondent in Letter No. LA1/ 146/ 2022 dated 28.07.2026 quash the same and
consequently direct the respondents, their men, agents and subordinates to
refrain from dispossessing the petitioners from the land measuring an extent of
2.72 Acres in T.s.Nos. 1/3, 1/4, 2/3, 2/4, 2/10, 2/11A and 2/13 of Allagapuram
pudur Village, Salem , except by due process of law.”
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
2. The petitioner would submit that the petitioners are the absolute
owners and are in actual, uninterrupted physical possession and enjoyment of
the land measuring an extent of 2.72 acres comprised in T.S. Nos.1/3, 1/4, 2/3,
2/4, 2/10 and 2/11, presently re-numbered as T.S. Nos.2/11A and 2/13, situated
at Allagapuram Pudur Village, Salem West Taluk, Salem District. The
petitioners derived title through ancestral succession and valid sale deeds in
favour of their predecessors-in-interest. The petitioner would further submit that
the ancestral samadhis (tombs) of their grandfather, grandmother and father are
situated in the said property and have been maintained and revered by the
family for generations.
3. The petitioner would submit that the 1st respondent initiated
acquisition proceedings under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894,
vide G.O.Ms.No.1058, Housing and Urban Development Department, dated
06.07.1978, followed by a declaration under Section 6 vide G.O.Ms.No.715
dated 03.06.1980, for acquiring a total extent of 17.67 acres, including the
petitioners' property measuring 2.72 acres. Though Award Nos.10/86-87 dated
19.09.1986 and 1/90-91 dated 31.08.1990 were passed, actual physical
possession of the petitioners' property was never taken and the compensation
was neither paid to the petitioners nor deposited before the competent Civil
Court.
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
4. The petitioner would submit that the petitioners challenged the
acquisition proceedings before this Hon'ble Court in W.P.No.34236 of 2014,
seeking a declaration that the acquisition had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Though the writ petition was
allowed, the Housing Board preferred W.A.Nos.1648 of 2016 and 16 of 2012,
which were allowed on 30.08.2023. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners have
filed Review Application Nos.266 and 267 of 2025, which are pending
consideration along with the connected applications. Thus, the dispute relating
to the acquisition proceedings remains pending before this Hon'ble Court.
5. The petitioner would submit that the 5th respondent, by Letter No.LA
1/146/2022 dated 28.07.2026, falsely contended that the subject property had
been developed into commercial plots pursuant to DTCP Layout Approval
No.LP/DTCP No.60/2003 dated 18.03.2003. However, the Salem City
Municipal Corporation, by notice dated 10.09.2015, had categorically informed
the 2nd petitioner that the Tamil Nadu Housing Board had failed to provide the
requisite basic amenities and hand over the same to the Corporation.
Consequently, no final layout approval was granted for the said property.
6. The petitioner would submit that their continuous physical possession
is also supported by the Possession Certificate in Roc.No.LA.1/731/750 dated
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
03.05.2024/23.05.2024 issued by the Tahsildar, Salem West, which records that
only an extent of 0.06.0 acres out of T.S.No.2/11B, new T.S.No.2/11A, was
measured in the presence of the Fairlands Police Inspector, while the remaining
extent continued to remain in the petitioners' possession.
7. The petitioner would submit that, despite the pendency of the review
proceedings and the petitioners' continued possession, the 5th respondent and
the officials of the 4th respondent Housing Board attempted to trespass into the
property on 22.11.2025 using a JCB bearing Registration No.TN 29 BZ 7147
and forcibly broke open the main entrance gate. They also allegedly harassed
the petitioners' 85-year-old widowed mother, pursuant to which the petitioners'
son lodged a complaint before the Fairlands Police Station, Salem, resulting in
the issuance of CSR No.443/2025 dated 22.11.2025.
8. The petitioner would further submit that the 5th respondent
subsequently issued a threatening notice directing the petitioners to vacate the
premises and submitted a report dated 28.07.2026 before the Hon'ble Chief
Minister's Special Cell, suppressing the pendency of the review applications,
non-payment of compensation, absence of final layout approval and the police
complaint in CSR No.443/2025. Thereafter, the respondents attempted to
dispossess the petitioners forcibly on 25.07.2026 without following due process
of law.
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
9. The petitioner would submit that the actions of the respondents in
attempting to interfere with the petitioners' peaceful possession and dispossess
them without following due process of law are arbitrary and illegal, apart from
being violative of Articles 14 and 300A of the Constitution of India. Therefore,
challenging the impugned letter dated 28.07.2026, the petitioners are before this
Court.
10. Heard the learned counsel on either side and perused the records.
11. The main ground on which the petitioners seek the reliefs stated supra
is that possession of the subject property has not been taken by the respondents.
12. A perusal of the records would reveal that the issue involved in the
present case has already been considered by the Division Bench of this Hon'ble
Court in W.A.Nos.16 of 2012 and 1641 of 2016, wherein the rights of the
Housing Board have been declared, with the following observations:-
“16. In the case on hand, the respondents Board has
produced the
Possession Certificate in their typed set of documents in
ROC.No.3/87 dated 28.07.1999, issued by the Special Tahsildar
(LA), Neighbourhood Scheme, Salem-8, in and by which
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
possession of the lands in T.S.Nos.1/4, 2/10, 2/13 totalling an
extent of 0.96 acres has been taken over, vide Award No.1/90-91
dated 31.08.90 and handed over to Mr.I.P.Chidambaram,
Surveyor, Salem Housing Unit of Tamil Nadu Housing Board,
who has signed in the said document. Thus, it is clear that the
possession of lands in question has been taken over by the
respondent Board as early as on 28.07.1999 and the respondents
Board has satisfied one of the twin conditions. Therefore, in the
light of the decision Indore Development Authority case (supra),
the claim of the appellants by invoking Section 24(2) of the Act,
2013 is legally unsustainable.”
12. The Division Bench of this Hon’ble Court had taken note of the fact
that the compensation amount in respect of the acquisition proceedings had
been handed over to the Land Acquisition Officer and deposited to the credit of
LAOP Nos.223 and 224 of 1998 on the file of the Sub Court, Salem, in respect
of the subject land in the instant case, and that possession had also been taken
over. Ultimately, the Division Bench had held that the invocation of the
provisions of the Fair Compensation Act, 2013, was wholly unsustainable.
Therefore, the contention of the petitioner that they continue to occupy the
subject land is absolutely incorrect. That apart, the subject land is vacant land,
and in the case of vacant land, possession follows title.
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
13. Therefore, in the light of the above, this Writ Petition stands
dismissed. No costs. Consequently, the connected Miscellaneous Petitions are
closed.
04-11-2026
Index: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-speaking order
Neutral Citation: Yes/No
SHR
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
P.T.ASHA J.
SHR
To
1. The State Of Tamil Nadu
Rep. by its Principal secretary to Government,
Housing and Urban Development department,
Fort St.George, Secretariat,
Chennai 09
2. The District collector
Salem District,
Fort Main Road,
Salem 636 005
3. The commissioner
Salem City Municipal corporation,
Salem 636 001
4. The Tamil Nadu Housing board
Rep. by its Managing Director,
CMDA complex, E and C Market Road,
Koyambedu, Chennai 107
5. The Executive engineer and Administrative officer
Salem Housing unit, Tamil Nadu Housing board,
Ayyanthirumaligai Road,
Salem 636 008
6. The Special Tahsildar (Land Acquisition )
Suburban scheme,
Salem 636 001
WP No. 40457 of 2026
AND
WMP NO. 45415 OF 2026,WMP NO. 45417 OF 2026,WMP NO. 45418 OF
2026
04-11-2026
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WP No. 40457 of 2026
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