CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has refused to overrule a single judge order directing the government to retrieve five acres of land that was allotted free of cost for charitable purposes but was misused by a trust. A division bench of justices S M Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq passed the order recently, dismissing the appeals filed by NR Dhanapalan, president of Annai Anadhai Illam and the Annai Violet International School challenging the 2020 single judge order.
The matter pertains to five acres of land assigned by the government in 1973 to Annai Anadhai Illam for establishing a home for widows and destitute women. However, instead of using the land for the stated purpose, the trust constructed a CBSE-affiliated school in 2014, prompting the revenue department to initiate action to retrieve the land. The trust then filed a writ petition in the high court, which ruled in favour of the government.
Additional Advocate General R Ramanlal, appearing for the respondent authorities, submitted that the original assignment order states in unambiguous terms that the assigned land is to be utilised for establishing home for widows and destitute women but the conditions under clause 24 (6) (2) of Revenue Standing Order was violated.
“It is an admitted fact that appellants developed a school affiliated to CBSE and that the factum being established, there is no reason to interfere with the decision of writ court and same stands confirmed,” the court said in the order, and directed the respondent authorities to “proceed to resume” the land.