7 months ago
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The Madras High Court connected Friday cleared the decks for eviction of St. Peter’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School from 2.14 acres of authorities onshore connected Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road successful St. Thomas Mount, Chennai aft uncovering it had been resisting eviction for immoderate decades.
Justices S.M. Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan dismissed a writ petition filed by the schoolhouse absorption challenging the State government’s June 10, 2025 refusal to halt the eviction proceedings and instead, delegate the full authorities land, located successful a cantonment area, successful favour of the school.
The judges recorded the submission of advocator Chevanan Mohan, representing the Cantonment Board, that the onshore successful question vests with the State authorities and therefore, the second was afloat entitled to invoke the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act of 1905 to evict the unauthorised occupants.
On perusing the records, the judges recovered the East India Company had leased retired the onshore archetypal successful 1802 successful favour of Krishnaswamy Chetty and Govindarajulu Chetty for a word of 50 years. The lease was extended doubly for an adjacent fig of years and it yet travel to an extremity successful 1952.
During the beingness of the lease period, the ineligible heirs of the lessee had transferred their leasehold rights to Saiyid Gul Mohammed Yarya Karim Suhrawardy alias Hilal Karim for ₹ 6,500 done a deed executed connected April 2, 1932. Therefore, successful 1952, the authorities extended the lease successful favour of that individual.
The hold was granted for a play of 30 years taxable to outgo of yearly premium of ₹1,027.80 and besides taxable to the provisions of the Cantonment (Housing Accommodation) Act, 1923. This lease had expired connected October 31, 1982 but earlier that, the spot had been fixed connected sub lease to Dr. Ms. Cornelius.
The authorities besides recovered that the lessee had violated the lease conditions which intelligibly stated the spot indispensable beryllium utilized lone for a dwelling location and not for purposes specified arsenic moving a hospital, hotel, bank, store oregon schoolhouse without the erstwhile authorisation of the Officer commanding the Division.
A Government Order was issued connected April 28, 1977 for resumption of the land. However, aggregate litigations ensued instantly thereafter and the eviction proceedings got delayed due to the fact that of the enactment orders granted by the courts and the clip taken by the State to get those orders vacated.
Finally, present the authorities enactment its ft down and refused to portion with the spot to the schoolhouse connected the crushed that it was required for operation of authorities offices and hence the latest writ petition.
