BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
K.K. SASIDHARAN, J. NISHA BANU, JJ.
M. Thiyagarajan - Petitioner
Vs.
The State of Tamil Nadu - Respondent
W.P. (MD).Nos.9604 of 2016, 18179 of 2016, 13756 and 14600 of 2017, W.M.P. (MD) Nos.7635, 7636, 8340, 9852, 13106 of 2016, 10735 and 11450 of 2017
Decided On : 31-08-2017
Civil Law - Donors of gifted land - Government Order - Bona fides of Public Interest Litigation - Public cause projected by donors of land - Establishment of Government Medical College and Hospital - Petitioner contended that land was donated to Government for a specific purpose - Government was not correct in changing location after accepting gift - Site within Municipality would create traffic problems - According to Senior Counsel, site at Village is ideal location as it would help rural people Government was legally not correct in choosing another site - According to learned Senior Counsel, fact that donors would be benefited by boost in land value consequent to establishment of Medical College cannot be a reason to uphold Government decision for change of location - Held, It is clear that selection of site for a Medical College or AIMS would require detailed study of location - Government has to consider a host of factors before identifying a particular site for establishing Medical College - However, in case of Karur Medical College, before accepting land donated by petitioners in W.P.(MD) no such Expert Committee for site selection was formed - District Collector and local Joint Director of Health Department not even cared to visit site before accepting the gift to decide as to whether it was locationally advantageous to establish Medical College and Hospital there - Acceptance of gift in relation to site at Village was actuated by mala fides and it was an arbitrary exercise of power by then Collector and Joint Director of Health - Government, subsequently, rectified mistake by selecting site owned by Karur Municipality, which, according to us, was a bona fide act taken in larger public interest – Court view that petitioners in W.P.(MD)Nos. are not entitled for a Writ of Mandamus, to direct State to establish the new Government Medical College and Hospital at Village - There is absolutely no public interest involved in the matter and in fact, court have no hesitation to hold that these three Writ Petitions are nothing but "paise interest litigations" - Gift of land is a clear device to boost land value in area and for commercial exploitation of the remaining area and the ultimate beneficiaries would only be donors, as they are in possession of vast land adjacent to donated land - Writ Petitions 9604, 18179 of 2016 and 14600 of 2017 dismissed and W.P.(MD)No.13756 of 2017 allowed
INTRODUCTORY:
1. It is the established practice to constitute a Site Selection Committee to identify and select the best location for establishment of Government Medical College and Hospital, after announcing the policy for such establishment by the Government. However, in the case of newly sanctioned Government Medical College and Hospital, at Karur, immediately after the announcement of Government decision by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, on 12 August, 2014, the real estate developers at Karur took swift action and identified a site in a remote area and thereafter, purchased large extent of land on 27 August, 2014 and after retaining covetable portion for commercial development, gifted an irregular tale like portion, to the Director of Medical Education on 28 August, 2014 and with the active assistance of the District Administration and Local Officials of the Health Department, came out successful in making the Government to take the land. The then District Collector, Karur and the Joint Director of Health Department, Karur, danced to the tune of Real Estate promoters and without visiting the subject land to satisfy as to whether it was fit for the construction of Medical College building, moved very fastly and made recommendation to the Government on 29 August, 2014 to accept the land, without even making an attempt to identify and shortlist the other available land with locational advantages, so as to enable the Government to select the best among such sites. The Government, subsequent to the issuance of the order in G.O.(Ms).No.352, Health and Family Welfare (E2) Department, dated 30 November, 2015 sanctioning funds, found that the gifted land was not at all suitable, more so, on account of the fact that the Government District Head Quarters Hospital, which was converted and declared as the Medical College Hospital, is 6 1/2 Kilometres away from the site covered under the gift deed and, therefore, took a decision to identify another suitable site with all the locational advantages and after short-listing two sites, finally decided to take the land offered by the Karur Municipality, which is very near to the existing Government Medical College Hospital at Karur. The attempt to establish the Medical College and the Hospital by taking the Municipal land is stalled by two real estate developers, who are the donors of the gifted land by filing Writ Petitions and obtaining interim orders restraining the Government from establishing the Medical College near the Government Medical College Hospital by utilizing the land allotted by the Karur Municipality. The net result is that the aspiring medical students were denied admission for the M.B.B.S. Course and the people of Karur, a full-fledged Multi-Speciality Hospital, attached to a Medical College. In short, the policy announced by the Government to establish the Medical College and Hospital at Karur and to commence the admission during the academic year 2016-2017 is stalled by the powerful real estate developers with the active assistance of all concerned who were in a dominant position to tilt the balance.
2. The alleged public cause projected by the donors of the land and the bona fides of the Public Interest Litigation has to be tested in the light of the observation made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Abraham T.J. Vs. The State of Karnataka [2017(7) Scale 641] that there is no public interest in shifting a Taluk Office from the place located earlier by accepting the gift of land from public for conferring a right or cause of action for challenging the decision, even if the decision was taken by violating the conditions of gift, by which, land was donated by the public for construction of Government Office and that Writ Petition in such cases does not expose any kind of public cause.
3. Individual Writ Petitions:
(A) The Writ Petition in W.P.(MD)No.9604 of 2016 i
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