Madras HC Rejects Plea To Expedite Planning Appeal, Citing Nov 24 Hearing Amid Enforcement Fears

The petitioner sought a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent to take up and decide his statutory appeal under Section 80-A of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, along with a pending stay petition.

He apprehended that enforcement action might be taken while the appeal was pending.

The State submitted that the appeal was fixed for enquiry on 24 November 2026.

The petitioner’s contention was that his stay petition remained undecided

Section 80-A(3) of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 empowers the Government to pass an interim order it considers fit while exercising its powers under the section.

Where the statutory authority can consider interim relief and the appeal and stay petition are pending before it, the High Court need not grant relief based merely on an apprehension, absent an established right warranting intervention

The Court noted that the statutory appeal had been fixed for enquiry and that Section 80-A(3) provided a mechanism for seeking interim relief from the Government.

Since the stay petition was also pending before the appellate authority, the petitioner could pursue that remedy there.

The asserted risk of enforcement was only an apprehension; the Court held that it did not justify High Court relief, particularly while the statutory proceedings remained pending

No costs were awarded, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed