Free access to suit property from adjoining public road cannot be defeated by assignment of land to private party.

1. Defendant in O.S.No 1352 of 1984, on the file of District Munsif's Court, Poonamallee, is the appellant.

2. Respondent herein filed the suit against the appellant to declare that she is entitled to have free ingress and egrees to the suit property set out in the Schedule to the plaint, from the Railway Station Road on the eastern side from all points of view of her property, and to grant a mandatory injunction thereby directing the appellant to remove the hut put up by him in the Railway Station Road in Survey No. 1017 of Korattur Village, which is an obstruction to her free access to the suit property and also for a permanent injunction restraining the defendant, his men and agents from trespassing into the suit property.

3. In the plaint, plaintiff/respondent has stated that she is the absolute owner of the site measuring 8 1/2 cents in Survey No.973/2B-1B situated in Korattur Village, Saidapet Taluk, Madras, having purchased the same from one Dr.V.Arumugam on 18.5.1983. It is said that the respondent is residing in Coimbatore and she has given Power of Attorney to her father P.M.Lakshmana Mudaliar to take care of the property. The suit property is bounded on the east by Railway Station Road, which is a public road, and that is the only access to the plaint schedule property from all points of view. As such, the said right of access, i.e., frontage right is a valuable right to the plaintiff and if any one encroaches in the said highway, the plaintiff cannot have access to her property. The defendant is alleged to have put up a hut just in front of the suit property on the eastern side thereby blocking the pathway and access to the suit property from all sides of the suit property. It is said that the defendant has put up the hut in the railway station road poramboke which is an unnecessary hindrance to the plaintiff. Because of that encroachment, plaintiff is not in a position to have free ingress and egress to her property. It is further said that even the Government is taking action to remove the hut which is on the road poramboke and there is every possibility of the defendant shifting his hut to some other place, again, causing obstruction to the plaintiff's frontage. It is on the above said allegation, respondent has filed the above suit for the reliefs aforementioned.

4. In the written statement, defendant has contended that he is residing in Survey No.1017/1 of Korattur Village for the last 30 years. It is his case that vacant lands are available around the plaint schedule property and that the plaintiff can have free ingress and egress from the southern side, i.e., from Anjaneyar Koil Street and from eastern side, i.e., from Station Road. According to him, the respondent is making false allegations against the appellant and he further admitted that he is occupying a portion of Survey No. 1017/1 of Korattur Village, which is admittedly a Pattai Poramboke land. He denied that he attempted to trespass or encroach the plaintiff's property. Since the defendant has been occupying the property for last 30 years, the question of granting a mandatory injunction also may not arise. It is further said that the other relatives of plaintiff are also having property in their possession which includes Pattai poramboke. Asking the defendant to vacate the premise in his possession will put him to great hardship.

5. On the above pleadings, trial court took oral and documentary evidence. It also deputed a Commissioner to inspect the property and prepare a report and plan. On the side of plaintiff, Exs.A-1 and A-2 were marked. They are respectively the sale deed in respect of the suit property and the Power of Attorney in favour of plaintiff's father. The appellant produced Exs.B-1 to B-3. Exs.C-1 and C-2 are the Commissioner's Report and Plan, and Ex.C-3 is the notice issued by the Commissioner to the parties. By way of oral evidence, plaintiff got herself examined as P.W.I and an independent witness was examined as P.W.2. The