PRAYER: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus forbearing the respondents from forcibly evicting or dispossessing the petitioner from the shop in Shop Nos.18 and 19, Kudamulukku Nianaivaranga Valagam, North Giri Street, Palani without due process of law.
These writ petitions are filed seeking a writ of Mandamus to direct the respondents not to evict them from the shops leased out to them, situate in and around Dhandayuthapani Swamy Thirukoil, Palani, Dindigul District, without due process of law.
2.The case of the petitioners is that the petitioners are lesseess under the third respondent and they are running shops in the properties leased out by the third respondent in and around Dhandayuthapani Swamy Thirukoil, Palani, Dindigul District. The petitioners are paying monthly rent to the third respondent regularly. Since, the third respondent issued auction notification, dated 28.04.2015, in respect of the said shops, they filed W.P(MD)No.7926 of 2015 and batch and the same were allowed, against which, appeals have been preferred and the same were allowed, observing that the petitioners have no cause of action to challenge the auction notification and there was no real threat of eviction. During pendency of the said appeals, the third respondent enhanced the rent several times from 01.07.2015. Therefore, the petitioners gave representations to the third respondent and the same were rejected, against which, appeals were filed and the second respondent dismissed the same. Challenging the said dismissal orders of the second respondent, the petitioners filed separate appeals before the first respondent. During pendency of the same, the third respondent tried to evict them from the shops for non-payment of enhanced rent. Therefore, these writ petitions have been filed for getting the relief sought for therein.
3.The third respondent filed counter affidavit in W.P(MD)Nos.11582 to 11585 of 2016 refuting the claim of the petitioners therein and prayed for the dismissal of the writ petitions.
4.Since the issue involved in all these writ petitions, is one and the same, they are taken up for hearing together and disposed of by this common order.
5.Today, when the matter is taken up for hearing, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that appeals filed against the dismissal orders passed in R.P.Nos.158 to 177/2015, 10 to 78, 86, 90, 91, 92 and 99/2016, dated 28.03.2016 and 30.03.2016, by the second respondent, are pending before the first respondent.
6.Considering the said submission made on the side of the petitioners, this Court, without going into the merits of the petitioners' claim, directs the first respondent to consider the appeals filed by the petitioners and pass appropriate orders on its own merit and in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity of hearing to the petitioners individually, within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
7.The writ petition are disposed of as above. No costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petitions are closed.
To
1.The Secretary to Government, Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowment Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai ? 9.
2.The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Nungambakkam High Road, Chennai ? 34.
3.The Joint Commissioner/Executive Officer, A/m.Dhandayuthapani Swamy Thirukoil, Palani, Dindigul District.
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