CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh on Chennai District Collector and directed him to appear before it on March 5, in connection with a contempt petition. Justice N Kirubakaran issued the directive while entertaining a contempt application from T N Ramasamy of Kilpauk seeking to punish the Collector for alleged willful disobedience of the court’s order dated July 31, 2017.The order had re-determined payment of compensation to the petitioner for the land acquired by the government for Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS).
Even after passing of the order by this court, in spite of the notice and reminder, the Collector had not bothered either to give a reply to the notice or comply with the order. Prima facie, there is a violation of the court order. The government authorities are not sensitive to court orders and this case is a classic example as to how court orders are ignored and not complied with. “Therefore, issue notice of appearance to the Collector on March 5,” the judge said.
The petitioner’s property in Mylapore measuring 487 sq ft, where he was running a hotel, was acquired and taken possession of by the Collector in 1993 for the MRTS. A sum of `2.53 lakh was fixed as compensation. The petitioner approached the High Court for a higher compensation, which on July 31, 2017, had enhanced it to `35.44 lakh.Even after the property was acquired in 1986 and possession was taken in 1993, the petitioner was not provided compensation for the past 30 years, the judge said, while imposing the costs. The entire amount, including costs, should be paid to the petitioner within 12 weeks, the judge said.