M. Kalaiselvan v. Deputy Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, Revenue Department
2011-08-02
M.Y.EQBAL, T.S.SIVAGNANAM
body2011
DigiLaw.ai
JUDGMENT :- T.S. SIVAGNANAM, J. 1. The forum of Public Interest Litigation is being misused in such a way that all types of civil disputes are brought under the public interest litigation. Despite pendency of civil suits, persons are set up here to file public interest litigations suppressing the fact about the pendency of suits. 2. This is one of such cases where the writ petitioners, in the garb of public interest litigation, sought a direction upon respondents 2 and 3, viz., the District Collector and District Revenue Officer, Kancheepuram District to remove encroachments and restore the pathway to the village comprised within Old Survey No.105/2, New Survey No.509/33. 3. It is alleged in the writ petition that the 12th and 13th respondents have put up a thatched hut blocking pathway to the other side of the road. Curiously enough, the writ petitioners have not disclosed that in the year 2009 these respondents, viz., respondents 12 and 13, have filed a suit against the writ petitioners and others being O.S.No.58 of 2009 in the Court of Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Thirukazhukundram. In the said suit, plaintiffs/respondents 12 and 13 prayed for the relief of preliminary decree of partition of the suit property comprised within the aforesaid Old Survey No.105/2, New Survey No.509/33. 4. Be that as it may, when the writ petition was listed on 09.6.2011, this Court having not aware of the fact that the writ petitioners suppressed the pendency of the suit, simply directed the learned Government Pleader to seek instructions in the matter. 5. This sort of filing public interest litigations suppressing the pendency of civil suits are highly deprecated. Because of the filing of the writ petition, the hut put up by respondents 12 and 13 has been removed and the toilet has also been damaged without there being any order passed by this Court. 6. We, therefore, dismiss this writ petition by imposing costs of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) which shall be paid by the petitioner to respondents 12 and 13, within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, so that they may get their hut and toilet restored.