CHENNAI: Taking serious view of Tambaram Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) defying the court’s and tehsildar’s previous orders by approving transfer of a 35-acre land’s patta that was registered with Chrome Leather Factory Limited, the Madras High Court quashed the land transfer order.
It also said that it “does not want to use any strong words against the RDO, a statutory authority, who has acted in a very questionable manner for extraneous consideration”. According to a petition filed by Chrome Leather Factory vice president Vairakumar, the 35 acres of land in Zamin Pallavaram was registered in 1944, and the town survey field register issued by the Pallavaram Municipality also recorded the same. Copies of the documents were submitted to the court.
The petitioner also stated that one Quenti Dawson along with some Revenue Department officials sought for cancellation of the land’s patta, which according to him stood in the name of one Damodharan who is also one of the respondents in the case. The government pleader appearing for the RDO argued that the revenue official had relied on documents and revenue records before transferring the patta.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh said in his order that the respondents had made several attempts to stake claim of the property for several years and also respective tehsildhars rejected their application twice in 2007 and 2011. The court has absolutely no hesitation to interfere with the order passed by the RDO and accordingly it is hereby quashed, he added.