Judiciary not Jesus to carry the cross for authorities’ sins: HC

CHENNAI: Censuring the Dharmapuri and Perambalur district administration for a 20-year delay in providing land records awaiting mutation, the Madras High Court observed that the judiciary is not Jesus Christ to carry the cross for the sins committed by the authorities. The court also ordered Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 as compensation for the two petitioners, respectively, who were made to run from pillar to post for the past 20 years.

Taking a serious view of the delay, Justice N Seshasayee observed that only because of such unjustifiable delays caused by authorities, courts are burdened with lakhs of litigations. The issue pertains to the petitions moved by Rathinam and Jayalakshmi seeking direction to the district administration to re-mutate records of the land owned by them.

According to Rathinam, she owned about four acres of land at Virappanayakkampatti, Harur village, Dharmapuri. The land was notified for acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, 1984, by the Tamil Nadu government in 1987. In 1988, a GO was issued for acquisition of the land. The same was challenged by the petitioner in the high court.

The judge, recording the submissions made by the counsel for the petitioners, ordered SP Karthikaa, Dharmapuri collector and P Sri Venkada Priya, Perambalur collector, who were summoned during the hearing, to come up with a viable solution for such issues which are rampant across the State. It was also noted that no appeal was made by the State against the HC order, or fresh acquisition notification was issued.

The court, ordering compensation for each of the petitioners, observed that such lack of professionalism at one level affects the judiciary by adding up to the pending cases. Also, an out-of-the-box solution is found to handle such issues, the court emphasised.