HC warns officials who create loopholes to help encroachers

The Madras High Court on Friday warned of action against government officials for creating legal loopholes while removing encroachments from the waterbodies and grazing lands, enabling the illegal occupants to approach the court.

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy made this observation while hearing a contempt petition filed by S Chandrasekaran seeking direction to take action against the officials who failed to removed encroachments in Mettupalayam area.

Recording the submissions, the ACJ observed that in many cases, the officials were not properly following the provisions and rules while they remove encroachments.

“As per the law, before proceeding with the action of removing encroachment, the officials should issue prior information or show-cause notice to the encroachers. However, in several cases, the same has not been followed. Therefore, it makes the encroachers approach the court to get a direction or stay against the action of the government. If this kind of approach is continued by the officials, the court would pass directions to initiate action against them,” the ACJ observed.

However, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran submitted that government officials were strictly adhering to the directions of the courts nowadays.

The judge also directed the Tahsildar, Mettupalayam, to appear before the court during the next hearing to explain the failure on the part of the officials in removing encroachments despite court direction. The matter has been posted for the coming week.