The court directed the survey authority to process applications for boundary surveys while addressing objections, ensuring no dispossession occurs.

ORDER

This Writ Petition is filed for issuance of writ of mandamus directing the respndents 1 to 3 to survey and fix boundaries of the property in Thoothukudi District, Srivaikuntam Taluk, Eral Town, Siruthondanallur Village, Survey No.116/1 to an extent of 0.09.0 ares as per the Tamil Nadu Survey and Boundaries Act, 1923 within a time frame as may be fixed by this Court.

2. The property in Survey No.116/1 in Thoothukudi District, Srivaikuntam Taluk, Eral Town, Siruthondanallur Village, is an ancestral property of the grandmother of the petitiner and UDR patta stood in her name. After her demise, two sale deeds were fradulently registered in favour of Vellaiammal and Velavan. Thereafter, pattas were also transferred in their favour on the basis of the fraudulent documents. Therefore, the petitioner filed a petition on 09.05.2023, to the Revenue Divisional Officer and the Revenue Divisional Officer cancelled the said pattas and directed to issue the patta in the name of the petitioner's grandmother as per the UDR ''A'' register. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition to the Tahsildar, Eral, Thoothukudi to survey and demarcate the boundaries on 10.10.2024 by paying necessary charges. As no action was taken, the petitioner filed the above Writ Petition for the aforesaid relief.

3. By consent of both parties, this Writ Petition is taken up for final disposal at the stage of admission itself. It is open to any aggrieved party to move this Court either by way of review or recall of this order, if there is any suppression of material facts by the petitioner.

4. This Court in W.P(MD)No.12676 of 2024, dated 14.06.2024 issued certain directions for considering the application for survey and fixing the boundary. Following the said order, the following directions are issued:

(I) The petitioner is directed to submit his / her application in on-line mode. The survey authority will scrutinize if the application submitted by the petitioner is in order. Patta need not be in the name of the applicant. If patta is in the name of the vendor and mutation has not been effected, still the application can be considered.

(II) The petitioner will have to enclose all the relevant documents such as patta. The applicant must have individual patta in his / her name. If he / she is having joint patta, co- pattadars must give their consent for conducting survey.

(III) The survey authority will issue notice to the writ petitioner as well as the adjacent land owners and also to the interested persons, if any.

(IV) Enquiry shall be held. During enquiry, objections raised by the adjacent land owners / interested persons shall be considered.

(V) If according to the jurisdictional authority, the objections are without any basis, the same shall be overruled and the objectors shall be informed accordingly. But the survey will be conducted only after a period of six weeks so that the objector can move the concerned Court for injunction. If before the proposed date of survey, the objector is unable to obtain any injunction order, the survey can very well go on.

(VI) It is open to the parties to serve memo of instructions to the surveyor at the time of conducting survey. The same will be borne in mind. While it cannot be binding on the surveyor, the same will be taken note of.

(VII) If the jurisdictional authority finds objections to be having substance, then, he shall call upon the applicant to move the jurisdictional civil Court for agitating his rights. (VIII) If required, the survey authority is empowered to seek aid of the jurisdictional police and the jurisdictional police are mandated to grant police protection.

(IX) It is made clear that at the end of the survey exercise, survey stones alone can be installed. The exercise of survey and demarcation undertaken pursuant to the direc