After 33 years of litigation, a land parcel worth ₹220 crore and measuring 11.95 acres in Sowripalayam Village, Coimbatore district, has been restored to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) by the Supreme Court. The decision followed arguments made by P Wilson, Senior Advocate, assisted by G Indira, the Tamil Nadu Government’s Standing Counsel.

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice Arvind Kumar, allowed the 2019 special leave petition filed by the TNHB and reversed the 2018 judgment passed by the division bench of the Madras High Court, which had confirmed the single judge’s order.

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The landowners – Rajendran, Ravindran, and Santhana Gopal residing in Singanallur, Coimbatore – approached the Madras High Court in 2008 with a writ petition challenging the State’s acquisition proceedings initiated in 1988 for a housing scheme known as the Uppali Palayam Neighbourhood Scheme Phase 4.

The learned single judge of the Madras High Court upheld their petition and quashed the acquisition proceedings on the ground that the award was not passed within two years.

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Following this, the TNHB filed an appeal against the decision of the Single Judge. However, the division bench of the Madras High Court upheld the single judge’s ruling on a different ground that the acquisition stands lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act due to the lack of possession and non-payment of compensation after award was passed in 1991. Aggrieved by this ruling, the TNHB appealed to the Supreme Court.

P. Wilson, representing the TNHB, pointed out to the Supreme Court that there had been an earlier round of litigation involving the same landowners before Madras High Court in 1991, which had resulted in the confirmation of the award passed by the Special Tahsildar for land acquisition. He noted that the landowners’ appeal had been dismissed by the division bench in 2000, thereby confirming the award in favour of TNHB.

Although the landowners later requested reconveyance, this relief was not granted by the government. They returned to the High Court in 2008, again seeking relief on the grounds that the acquisition had lapsed for non approval of award. This request was granted by Single judge of Madras High court and later confirmed by the Division Bench of the Madras High Court in 2018, leading to the current Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Housing Board.

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The Supreme Court said that a judicial review over an executive decision invoking Section 48B is limited. “What we are trying to state is that even the request for reconveyance under Section 48B is not available as the requisitioning body has come into play,” the order said.

An application under Section 48B, as stated, would clearly show that not only the title but possession is taken. Possession follows the title. “Therefore, looking from any perspective, we have no hesitation to state that the impugned judgment which has been passed by taking into consideration a new ground raised which is also not available, cannot be accepted. The decision relied upon also is not a case in point, as it was dealing with different facts,” the order said.

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In such a view of the matter, the impugned judgment confirming the order of the learned single Judge stands set aside. The appeals stand allowed accordingly. No costs. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of, the Court said.