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W.P.(MD) No.2897 of 2026

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

DATED : 03.02.2026

CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE DR.JUSTICE G.JAYACHANDRAN

and

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K.K.RAMAKRISHNAN

W.P.(MD) No.2897 of 2026

and

W.M.P.(MD) Nos.2387 & 2388 of 2026

Tamil Selvi ... Petitioner

-vs-

1.The Government of Tamil Nadu

rep.by its Principal Secretary

to the Government

Revenue Department

Secretariat, Fort St.George

Chennai

2.The Principal Secretary /

The Commissioner of

Land Administration

Ezhilagam, Chepauk, Chennai

3.The District Collector

Virudhunagar District

Virudhunagar

4.The District Revenue Officer

Virudhunagar District

Virudhunagar

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W.P.(MD) No.2897 of 2026

5.The Revenue Divisional Officer

Aruppukottai

Virudhunagar District

6.The Tahsildar

Office of the Tahsildar

Aruppukottai Taluk

Virudhunagar District

7.T.R.Rajan ... Respondents

PRAYER: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue

a writ of certiorari calling for the records of the impugned order in

Na.Ka.No.T3/12229785/2025 dated 14.01.2026 issued by the 2^nd respondent

and quash the same as illegal.

For Petitioner : Mr.T.Lajapathi Roy, Senior Counsel

for Mr.B.Arun

For Respondents : Mr.S.P.Maharajan

Special Government Pleader for R1 to R6

O R D E R

[Order of the Court was made by DR.G.JAYACHANDRAN, J.]

Mr.S.P.Maharajan, learned Special Government Pleader, takes

notice for the respondents 1 to 6.

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W.P.(MD) No.2897 of 2026

2. The petitioner herein, who is found to have encroached upon a

public land classified as “Cart Track”, was issued with a notice of eviction of

encroachment under Section 6 of the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act,

1905. Challenging the same, earlier, the petitioner herein approached this

Court by filing a writ petition in W.P.(MD) No.6263 of 2025, wherein this

Court, by an order dated 13.06.2025, dismissed the said writ petition. The

relevant portion of the said order is extracted hereunder:

“6.Since the statutory appeal is permitted,

there is no impediment for the petitioner to prefer

an appeal before the Commissioner of Land

Administration to test the correctness of the order

passed by the District Revenue Officer,

Virudhanagar. However, the High Court in exercise

of the powers of judicial review cannot adjudicate

the disputed facts when the efficacious statutory

remedy is contemplated.

7. Adjudication of the facts by the Appellate

Authorities are of paramount important, which

would be a greater assistance to the High Court for

the purpose of exercise the powers of judicial

review in an effective manner.

8.Granting liberty to the petitioner to approach

the appellate authority, the present writ petition

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W.P.(MD) No.2897 of 2026

stands dismissed. In the event of preferring an

appeal, the period during which the writ petition

was pending before the High Court, is to be taken

into consideration for the purpose of condoning the

delay if any. There shall be no order as to costs.

Consequently, the connected miscellaneous

petitions are closed.”

3. Pursuant to the above said liberty granted to the petitioner, she

filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Land Administration. Even though

there was a delay on the part of the petitioner in filing the appeal before the

authority concerned, she had not filed any application seeking condonation of

delay. In the said circumstances, the Commissioner of Land Administration,

by the impugned order dated 14.01.2026, dismissed the appeal preferred by

the petitioner herein on the ground of delay as the appeal was filed beyond the

period of one month. Aggrieved by the dismissal of her appeal, the petitioner

has filed the present writ petition.

4. A perusal of the records shows that the direction to the

petitioner to approach the Commissioner of Land Administration was issued