JUDGMENT

Common Order: (A.P. Sahi, CJ.)

The challenge raised in all these petitions is to Act No.40 of 2018, the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018 insofar as it relates to alteration of definition of the word “hoarding” as used in (1) Section 326-A of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919; (2) Section 285-A of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920, which are similar to the amendments brought about under the same Act in Section 410-A of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 and Section 410-A of the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971. The said amendment was published on 16.07.2018 with a rider that it shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification, appoint.

2. The State Government has come out with a notification published on 31.01.2019 enforcing the said amendment with effect from 01.02.2019.

3. To appreciate the controversy at the very out set since the amendment is common to all the enactments, we are extracting the amended definition of the word “hoarding” as contained in Section 326-A of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919. The same is extracted herein under:

(a) “hoarding” means any screen of boards, other than digital banner and placard, at any place, used or intended to be used for exhibiting advertisement, including the frame work or other support, erected, wholly or in part upon or over any land, building, wall or structure, belonging to the Corporation, visible to public wholly or partly.”

4. A challenge has been occasioned on account of the phrase “belonging to the Corporation” having been included in the definition clause of hoarding whereby the place on which a hoarding can now exist has to necessarily belong to the Corporation to the exclusion of any private person at large or any other class of land either belonging to the Union or the State Government. We are mentioning this fact as one of the petitions relates to the setting up of hoarding on railway land belonging to the Union Railways where permission has been granted, but on account of the said amendment, the request for grant/renewal of licence for setting up of hoarding stands denied to the petitioner.

5. We may at the out set mention that initially the said challenge came to be raised in relation to the very same amendment in respect of Madurai and Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Acts at the Madurai Bench of this Court in W.P.(MD) Nos.18345, 18346, 18353 and 18366 of 2018. A Division Bench of the Court at Madurai recorded brief reasons on 23.08.2018 for entertaining the petitions and after hearing the parties, passed an interim order on 30.08.2018, which is extracted herein under:

W.P(MD)No.18345 of 2018 has been filed seeking a writ of Declaration to declare Act No.40 of 2018 –Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on 16.07.2018 as unconstitutional insofar as Amendment to Section 410-A of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 and consequently, quash the same as unconstitutional.

2. W.P(MD)No.18346 of 2018 has been filed seeking a writ of Declaration to declare Act No.40 of 2018 – Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on 16.07.2018 asunconstitutional insofar as Amendment to Section 410-A of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981 and consequently, quash the same as unconstitutional.

3. Heard the learned Counsel for the parties.

4. The petitioners are running advertising agencies. As the State Government have introduced the Act No.40 of 2018 – Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, dated 16.07.2018, to amend the definition of ‘hoarding’ and also to implement certain other changes to Section 410-A under Chapter XIII-A of Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, 1981, pursuant to which, the definition of ‘hoarding’ reads as under,

(a) “hoarding” means any screen of boards, other than di