The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Writ court should not fix nature of property right”

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Monday, Aug 04, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Writ court should not fix nature of property right”

Special Correspondent

Appeal challenging single judge order granting police protection to petitioners dismissed
Interim directive permits petitioner to put up construction on land

CHENNAI: Within the circumspect nature of jurisdiction of a writ court, a finding about the nature of a property right should not be arrived at; nor any finding about any of the parties committing criminal trespass should be ventured by a writ court, the First Bench of the Madras High Court has said.

Such questions should be left to the appropriate forum created under the law, the Bench of Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla has said. The judges said that in a recent decision, the Supreme Court had stated that through a petition filed under the pretext of seeking a writ of mandamus directing the police to give protection to a writ petitioner, the writ court could not be made a forum for adjudicating civil rights.

The Bench was dismissing a writ appeal filed by Pushparaj challenging an order of a single judge who allowed a petition which sought police protection to the petitioners to enjoy the property they had bought at Vadanemili in Kancheepuram district.

The Bench said it was clear the single judge had sought to decide the property rights of the contesting parties. The judge gave an interim directive, permitting the petitioner to put up construction on the land. The Bench said counsel for the parties had submitted that civil suits were pending, and there was also a civil court decree.

It was clear that police protection had been sought, and it was granted by the judge through an interim order in favour of the writ petitioner. Such an order could not be sustained in view of the Supreme Court judgment, the Bench said.

The judges said the parties were at liberty to seek remedy from the civil court.

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