BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 07.07.2023 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN W.P(MD)No.15259 of 2014 V.Pandianrajan ... Petitioner Vs.

1.The District Collector, Office of Collectorate, Madurai District.

2.The District Revenue Officer, Madurai District, Madurai.

3.The Revenue Divisional Officer, Revenue Divisional Office, Madurai District, Madurai.

4.The Tahsildar, Madurai East, Madurai District, Madurai.

5.S.Rajendran

6.S.Yoga Rajan ... Respondents (R5 & R6 are impleaded vide order dated 22.01.2015 in M.P.(MD)No.1 of 2014 in W.P.(MD)No.15259 of 2014 by BRJ)

Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the Respondent Nos.1 to 4 to change patta in the name of the petitioner in Survey No.73/67 to an extent of 1.18500 Ares in Illangiendal, Puthuthamarai Patti (post), Madurai District and to effect necessary changes in Field Measurement Book (FMB) sketch within the time stipulated by this Court.

For Petitioner : Mr.S.Rajasekar For Respondents : Mr.N.Satheesh Kumar, Addl. Government Pleader for R1 to R4.

Mr.J.Anandkumar for R6.

ORDER

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Additional Government Pleader for the respondents 1 to 4 and the learned counsel for the sixth respondent.

2.The case of the petitioner is that the land comprised in S.No.73/67 measuring 0.18500 ares in Illangiendal, Puthuthamarai Patti Village, Madurai East Taluk should be mutated in his name. According to the petitioner, his brother / Rajan was the original pattadar. Rajan had sold the property in favour of one Chellapandian vide sale deed dated 21.08.2002. From the said Chellapandian, the petitioner had purchased the property 27.01.2010. The petitioner has been representing to the Tahsildar for mutation of patta since 2012. Since the petitioner's request was not considered, the present writ petition came to be filed.

3.When the matter was taken up final hearing, it was submitted that mutation had already been made on 18.04.2023 in favour of the petitioner in RTR No.1431 of 2023. In normal circumstances, this Court would have closed the writ petition as infrcutuous by recording this development.

4.However, there was stiff opposition from the learned Additional Government Pleader for the official respondents as well as the learned counsel for the sixth respondent. It is seen from the entries in the Natham Adangal Register that S.No.73/37 measuring around 12 cents has been classified as school. A panchayat school building is very much in existence even as on date. Whileso, the petitioner staked claim over the land comprised in S.No.73/67. The Assistant Section Officer, Madurai-20 issued proceedings in Nu.Mu.No.6574/96 dated 30.07.1996 calling upon the Special Tahsildar (Natham), Madurai North to issue proceedings in favour of the petitioner's brother / V.Rajan over an extent of 185 square metres in S.No.73/37 as he is residing therein. Pursuant to the said direction, the Special Tahsildar (Natham), Madurai North conducted enquiry and issued direction dated 04.04.1997 directing the Tahsildar, Madurai North to issue patta in favour of the petitioner's brother. Purusuant thereto in RT No.279/97-98 patta in favour of Rajan, the brother of the petitioner was issued in S.No.73/67 for 185 square meters. Though on record, mutation had already been effected in favour of the petitioner's brother and the petitioner's brother had sold the said property in favour of Chellapandian in the year 2002, the petitioner could not succeed in his efforts to get mutation in his favour after purchase of property from Chellapandian.

5.That was because the sixth respondent herein had been raising objection that the petitioner is attempting to encroach on the school property. The petitioner and his siblings filed O.S.No.191 of 2007 before the District Musnif Court, Madurai Taluk. The sixth respondent herein was shown as the first defendant in the said suit.