Title - Litigants slapped with Rs. 25,000 costs

The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed two persons to pay costs of Rs.25,000 each to the railways for unnecessarily dragging it into a litigation.

Justice K.K.Sasidharan passed the order while dismissing a plea by P.Arunodayam and N.Kasturi seeking to restrain the ICF from claiming any right over their lands at Villivakkam here.Earlier, the petitioners had been requested by the authorities to hand over about five grounds on the northern boundary of their patta land abutting ICF compound wall for straightening the Otteri Nulla by the State government. They were offered alternative lands. The petitioners handed over the lands to the Revenue department.Mr.Justice Sasidharan said the petitioners were trespassers in respect of the lands owned by the railways. They had approached the court with a false claim and wanted the court to believe that their predecessor was in possession of the lands on the basis of patta issued.Now that it was evident that their predecessor had no right in respect of the lands, it should be construed that the petitioners also had no right. The government proceeded in the matter as if the property belonged to the petitioners. The petitioners’ claim was now found wrong by the documents produced by the railways. The petitioners were successors of land-grabbers. They were liable to pay costs to the railways by September 30, he said.