Tag: Madras High Court

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HC nullifies Tamil Nadu law allowing registrars to block deals

MADURAI: The Madras High Court has annulled Section 34-C of the Registration Act, 1908, which was amended by Tamil Nadu in 2026. The court ruled that this section unjustly conferred sub-registrars with the authority to impede property registrations based on issues within civil court jurisdiction. A division bench comprising Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman deemed the provision unconstitutional and invalid, while accepting four writ petitions that challenged the amendment. Section 34-C prohibited the registration of documents related to immovable property unless the individuals involved presented the original document and an encumbrance certificate. Furthermore, registration was restricted in cases…

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Madras HC Notifies Tamil Nadu on PIL for Hill Area Approvals

CHENNAI: An activist has approached the Madras High Court to contest a government order (GO) from the Tamil Nadu government. This order allows urban planning authorities to approve housing layouts in hilly areas and make land-use changes, sidestepping the essential clearance from the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA). The court admitted the plea on Wednesday, with the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan directing the state government to respond within four weeks. According to the petitioner, S. Muralidharan, the HACA was established in 1990 to safeguard ecologically sensitive hill regions from the effects…

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Madras HC Sends Notice to Govt on Madurai Metro DPR

Representative AI image MADURAI: The Madras High Court has issued notices to the Centre, state authorities, and Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) regarding a petition urging the state government to revise and resubmit the detailed project report (DPR) for the Madurai Metro Rail project for reevaluation. A division bench, comprising Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice C Kumarappan, heard the public interest litigation presented by A V Kathir, a first-year law student from Madurai. The petitioner emphasized that over the last two decades, Madurai has evolved into one of the fastest-growing urban centers in Tamil Nadu. The city is now home…

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Madras HC: Sub-registrars Can Reject House Site Registrations

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has clarified that sub-registrars have the authority to deny the registration of a plot as a house site without prior approval from planning authorities, as stipulated under the Registration Act. This clarification came from a division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq while ruling on an appeal filed by the sub-registrar of Salem West. The appeal challenged a single judge’s order dated July 1, 2024, which reversed a decision to deny registration of a plot. The case originated from a plea by D Rajamanickam, who contested the sub-registrar’s refusal to register a…

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Madras HC Bans Resorts and Hotels in Elephant Corridor

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has reinforced a total ban on commercial activities in the Segur Plateau Elephant Corridor, following the findings of the Segur Plateau Elephant Corridor Inquiry Committee established by the Supreme Court. This prohibition extends to all resorts and hotels. The landowners are permitted to maintain and cultivate their properties in an environmentally friendly way that does not disturb the elephants, without installing artificial barriers like electric fences. This was affirmed by a special bench comprising Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. The bench reiterated that the committee’s findings, led by former judge Justice…

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Madras HC Criticizes Chennai Civic Body for Sealing Delays

Here’s a rewritten version of your content: CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has criticized the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) as “negligent and indolent” for failing to follow court orders concerning unauthorized constructions. Instead of enforcing lock-and-seal orders, the GCC has been allowing building occupants to explore other options. This case arose from a petition aimed at sealing a building in Virugambakkam. During a hearing on April 3, the court reprimanded the GCC for neglecting a similar petition from 2023. Although the GCC requested four weeks for compliance, the case was not revisited until August 12. Due to the GCC’s inaction,…

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HC Urges Govt to Adopt Madurai’s Property Tax Assessment Model

MADURAI: The Madurai corporation commissioner has submitted a detailed action plan to verify property tax assessments for all buildings within the city limits. In response, the Madras High Court directed the state to issue a circular to all corporations, municipalities, and town panchayats, advising them to adopt the Madurai corporation model. Following a previous order, Commissioner Chitra Vijayan reported to the court that 100 teams have been formed for property tax assessments across the city’s wards. Each team consists of a tax collector, a technical assistant, and a sanitary supervisor. The officials have undergone training in the new assessment procedures,…

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Madras HC Urges Authorities to Maintain Legal Sand Quarrying

Representative Image MADURAI: The Madras High Court has emphasized that authorities must adhere to regulations to prevent illegal activities during sand quarrying operations. This ruling came during the consideration of a public interest litigation filed in 2024 by L Karthick, president of the Salem East District Sand and M-Sand Lorry Owners Welfare Association. The petitioner requested that officials enforce the guidelines established by the government in a 2022 directive by restoring the Tamil Nadu Sand Web Service Portal (TN Sand App) and the ‘Investigator App’ with all previous features intact, facilitating the sale of river sand directly at quarry sites…

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Madras HC Calls for Citywide Building Assessment in Madurai

MADURAI: On Tuesday, the Madras High Court instructed the commissioner of the Madurai Corporation to set up special teams to verify the property tax assessments of all buildings within Madurai city. Following a previous order, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abhinav Kumar, has been formed to investigate the property tax scam in Madurai Corporation. The state reported that the SIT’s investigation has gained momentum. The team has also requested property tax assessment data from the past ten years from the Director of Municipal Administration to conduct a thorough examination. A division bench, comprising…

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40 Revenue Officials Served Show-Cause Notices for Sand Mining

AI-generated Representative Image COIMBATORE: Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, the Coimbatore district collector, has issued show-cause notices to 40 current and former revenue department officials for their inability to halt illegal sand mining in Perur taluk from 2019 to 2025. The district collector informed TOI that officials have been requested to submit written explanations. Further actions will be determined based on their responses. Sources reveal that the notices target four tahsildars, 22 village administrative officers (VAOs), as well as some deputy tahsildars and revenue inspectors. These notices were issued under Section 17(a) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules,…