Madras High Court Weekly Round-Up: March 04 - March 10, 2024

NOMINAL INDEX

D Bright Joseph v Church of South India and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 95

M Priya v Canara Bank, 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 96

V Boovalingam v Ponnamani and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 97

T Manohar v Udhayanidhi Stalin and Another, 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 98

S Harikrishnan v Union of India and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 99

M/s.Sri Sasthaa Constructions Versus The Assistant Commissioner (ST), 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 100

REPORT

Church Of South India Amenable To Writ Jurisdiction Under Article 226 Except When Discharging Functions Of The Clergy: Madras High Court

Case Title: D Bright Joseph v Church of South India and Others

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 95

The Madras High Court has recently observed that the Church of South India performs public functions when it is engaged in the running of schools, colleges, hospitals, etc and if any action taken by the CSI is detrimental to this public duty, a writ petition against the same would be maintainable.

The bench of Justice R Subramanian, Justice PT Asha, and Justice N Senthilkumar also emphasized that when the CSI was performing functions outside the above public duty, ie, when it was engaged in discharging the functions of the clergy, such functions would be outside the scope of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution.

Like Fulfilling Unwritten Will Of Deceased Govt Servant: Madras HC Says Granting Compassionate Employment Should Be Rule, Denying It An Exception

Case Title: M Priya v Canara Bank

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 96

The Madras High Court has held that while considering compassionate appointments, granting appointments should be the rule, and denying it should be an exception.

Justice RN Manjula observed that providing compassionate appointment was like fulfilling the unwritten will of the deceased government servant, and required an understanding of how the deceased employee would have wished his dependents to settle in life if he was alive. The court, thus, noted that the authorities needed to consider the applications with both sympathy and empathy.

The court further pointed out that while married daughters had crossed the first challenge of coming under the ambit of the compassionate scheme, they continued to face challenges and were expected to prove that they were depending on the income of the father. The court added that while married sons found it easier to continue living in the family home when married daughters chose to live in their parents' house, it raised eyebrows and was considered unusual.

Parks And Playgrounds Are Lungs Of City, Lands Earmarked Should Not Be Used For Anything Else: Madras High Court

Case Title: V Boovalingam v Ponnamani and Others

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 97

The Madras High Court recently remarkes that parks and playgrounds are the lungs of a city and lands earmarked for constructing the same should not be used for any other purpose.

The bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice P Dhanabal observed that as per Section 32(4) and Section 122 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971, and Rule 47 of the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules 2019, the building and use of land shall conform to the conditions imposed while sanctioning the land.

Madras High Court Deprecates Udhayanidhi Stalin's Comments Against 'Sanatana Dharma', Refuses To Direct His Removal As Minister

Case Title: T Manohar v Udhayanidhi Stalin and Another

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 98

The Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to issue a writ of quo warranto against Tamil Nadu Ministers Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sekar Babu and MP A Raja to remove them from their posts because of the comments against Sanatana Dharma.

At the same time, Justice Anita Sumanth made critical remarks against the statements made by the Ministers and observed that those holding constitutional positions should not have made such divisive statements. The court added that Minister Udayanidhi Stalin's statement equating Sanatana Dharma to HIV, AIDS, Malaria etc was perverse and against the constitutional mandate.

The Court specifically criticised HR&CE Minister Sekar Babu for participating in a meeting for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma.

The court added that those holding constitutional positions should propound only constitutionalism and even if there were ideological differences between political leaders, any statement made publicly should be constructive and not destructive.

ALSO READ: Udhayanidhi Stalin's Comments Against 'Sanatana Dharma' Amount To Hate Against Specific Community : Madras High Court

Madras High Court Removes Observation In Judgment That Origin Of Caste System Is Less Than A Century Old

Discipline Is Of Paramount Consideration In Military Services, Lenient View Will Bring Organisational Disorder: Madras High Court

Case Title: S Harikrishnan v Union of India and Others

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 99

The Madras High Court recently observed that in military services, the paramount consideration was towards discipline and any lenient view would cause organisational disorder.

The bench of Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice N Senthilkumar was hearing a plea against an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal upholding a driver's removal from service and seeking to reinstate him with monetary benefits.

The court opined that the petitioner had not considered his employment seriously and a lenient view could not be taken in such cases. The court also observed that when such unauthorised absence was not viewed strictly, it could set a bad precedent.

The court also rejected the petitioner's submission that the authorities had not considered his explanation. The court observed that it was for the competent authority to decide whether the explanation was satisfactory and it was not for the court to substitute its views for the vires of the competent authority.

Madras High Court Directs AO To Allow Transitional Credit Of Purchase Tax Paid Under GST Act If Already Paid under VAT Act

Case Title: M/s.Sri Sasthaa Constructions Versus The Assistant Commissioner (ST)

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 100

The Madras High Court has directed the Assessing Officer to allow transitional credit of purchase tax paid under Section 140 of the TNGST Act, 2017, if the petitioner had paid “purchase tax” under Section 12(1) of the TNVAT Act.

The bench of Justice C. Saravanan has observed that the petitioner deserves a chance to defend the case as the impugned assessment order was passed during the period when the country was in semi-lockdown mode. If the VAT-TDS had indeed remained unutilized for discharging tax liability under the TNVAT Act, 2006, there should be a fresh adjustment of the amount out of the VAT-TDS towards the tax liability of the petitioner, and thereafter, ITC, which would have remained unutilized, ought to have been allowed to be transitioned under Section 140 of the Act or refunded to the petitioner under Section 54 of the TNGST Act, 2017 read with the TNVAT Act, 2006.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Madras High Court Issues Notice On Plea Alleging Discharge Of Untreated Sewage & Effluents By Isha Foundation

Case Title: ST Sivagnanan v The State of Tamil Nadu and others

Case No: WP 5813 of 2024

The Madras High Court has issued notice on a plea filed by a resident of Coimbatore seeking action against Isha Foundation to stop discharging sewage and other effluents into the neighboring land owned by him.

The bench of Justice SS Sundar and Justice N Senthilkumar have issued notices returnable by March 27. In the meanwhile, the court has directed government officials to ensure that no sewage waste is discharged into the neighboring agricultural lands by the Foundation.

The petitioner, one ST Sivagnanan, argued that the Ashram did not have a proper sewage connection and no arrangements had been made by the Ashram to treat or dispose of the sewage waste hygienically. He informed the court that the sewage was mostly taken out through underground pipelines and let out in surrounding areas including the vacant private properties nearby.

Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Convict Moves Madras High Court For Getting All Country Passport To Travel To UK

S Nalini, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case, has approached the Madras High Court seeking directions to the state to permit her husband Srikaran @ Murugan, another convict in the case, to appear before the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai and get an all-country passport allowing him to travel to the United Kingdom and settle with his daughter there.