CHENNAI: Observing that every individual’s petition towards encroachment cannot be treated as a Public Interest Litigation, the Madras High Court said appropriate procedures such as first approaching the local authority, have to be followed prior to making a representation in the court.
During the hearing on Wednesday over a petition alleging encroachment of a public land, the counsel for Tamil Nadu Housing Board argued that the petition be dismissed since the litigant had a habit of filing such pleas.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy disposed of the petition observing that no encroachment should be permitted on public land, and also every individual complaint cannot be treated as PIL plea. The court said it was disposing the plea based on merits of the matter, and directed the authorities concerned to examine the representation within four weeks.
Similarly, in another case pertaining to encroachment of government lands, the same bench said, “Public Interest Litigations cannot be entertained for every encroachment that has taken place unless there is a major issue which comes to the fore, or is a matter of general public importance.” “If every encroachment matter becomes a PIL, we will be doing nothing else,” it added and disposed of the PIL plea.