The court emphasizes the importance of surveying land to determine its public or private status in encroachment disputes, guiding appropriate legal remedies thereafter.

ORDER :

M. SUNDAR, J.

Subject matter of captioned 'writ petition' (hereinafter 'WP' for the sake of brevity) is 'land in T.S.No.2745 in what is described as Cuddalore O.T., Cuddalore Taluk, Cuddalore District' (hereinafter 'said land' for the sake of convenience and clarity).

2. Mr. B. Sankara Narayanan, learned counsel representing Mr. D. Baskar, learned counsel on record for writ petitioner, submits that R3 (K.S. Vasan – private respondent) has encroached upon said land by constructing a temple. Learned counsel is unable to give facts and details qua earlier proceedings with clarity and specificity. However, in the interest of the parties, this Court examined the same and earlier proceedings are given below in the form of a tabulation:

3. As regards respondents, Mr. P. Srinivas, learned Standing Counsel for Cuddalore Municipality (R1) and Mr. V. Venkata Seshaiya, learned counsel for R2 are before us. R3 (K.S. Vasan - private respondent) has been duly served, name of R3 together with address in the cause title, has been shown in the cause list however there is no representation for R3. We are informed by Registry that R3 has not chosen to enter appearance through counsel.

4. Considering the nature of the matter, we deem it appropriate to implead:

i. jurisdictional Tahsildar, i.e., Tahsildar, Cuddalore Taluk, Cuddalore District as R4;

ii. The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, No.119, Uthamar Gandhi Salai (previously Nungambakkam High Road), Chennai 600 034 as R5; and iii. The Joint Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Cuddalore, Cuddalore District as R6.

5. Mr. M.S. Arasakumar, learned Government Advocate, accepts notice for newly impleaded R4 and Mr. S. Ravichandran, learned Additional Government Pleader (HR & CE), accepts notice for newly impleaded RR 5 and 6.

6. Though learned counsel for writ petitioner submits that said land is a channel, no document to support this contention has been placed before us. All that the learned counsel refers to is an order dated 21.11.2017 made in W.P.No.29712 of 2017, wherein, the writ petitioner's contention that it is a channel has been captured by Hon'ble Single Judge.

7. It is important to notice that all temples in Tamil Nadu are public temples vide sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the TAMIL NADU HINDU RELIGIOUS AND CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS ACT , 1959 (Act 22 of 1959) {hereinafter 'HR & CE Act'} unless exempted in part or wholly vide Section 4 . This is