CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday reserved the orders on a case relating to the termination of a lease agreement for 160 acres of land leased out to the Madras Race Club (MRC) and the subsequent takeover of the property.
Justice RMT Teekaa Raman reserved the orders on the application filed by the MRC seeking to dispense with the pre-suit notice under section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) for filing a plaint against the termination of the lease.
Resuming the arguments for the second day on Tuesday, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, representing state revenue secretary, alleged that the MRC had suppressed vital facts and documents relating to the termination of the lease agreement. He said as the state had terminated the lease and taken possession of the property, there was no urgency to dispense with the issuance of notice.
“They have withheld certain vital documents from (producing before) the court. When an appeal in this matter is pending before a division bench, why are they preferring the suit?” he asked, saying it was a clear case of “forum shopping”.
Senior advocate P Wilson, also representing the revenue secretary, submitted the documents relating to handing over the land to the horticulture department by the tahsildar concerned.
Appearing for the Madras Race Club, senior advocate A L Somayaji said the state could not take possession of the land without following due procedure even if the lease agreement was terminated. He noted that the state has been earning about `10 crore in taxes from the club members.