W.P.No.7922 of 2023 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 16.03.2023 CORAM : THE HON'BLE MR.T.RAJA, ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY W.P.No.7922 of 2023 M.Pannerselvam .. Petitioner Vs 1.The Home Secretary, Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai. 2.The Commissioner, Prohibition and Excise, Chepauk, Chennai. 3.The District Collector, O/o. The District Collector, Trichy District, Trichy. 4.The Tahsildar, O/o. Tahsildar Office, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District, Trichy. __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 5.The Block Development Officer, Thuraiyur Block, Trichy District. 6.The Manager, O/o. District TASMAC Office, Old Building, 1st Floor, DRO Room, Trichy. 7.Murugesan .. Respondents Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ of certiorarified mandamus to call for the records relating to the impugned proceedings Se.Mu.AAa.No.Ma(Ma)Aa 9(1)/51/2022 dated 20.02.2023 passed by the second respondent and also directing the sixth respondent not to open any new TASMAC outlet at petitioner's village and quash the same. For the Petitioner : Mr.D.Ashok Kumar For the Respondents : Mr.P.Muthukumar State Government Pleader for respondent Nos.1 to 5 : Mr.K.Sathish Kumar Standing Counsel for respondent No.6 __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 ORDER (Order of the court was made by the Hon'ble Acting Chief Justice) M.Pannerselvam, son of Magendran, a resident of No.2/181, East Street, Naduvalur Village, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District, has filed this writ petition challenging the order of the second respondent dated 20.02.2023 and to restrain the sixth respondent from opening the TASMAC outlet in the agricultural land owned by the seventh respondent. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that he belongs to Naduvalur village and is doing agricultural work and there are about 1500 houses with 3000 population in his village. Since the sixth respondent was trying to open a TASMAC outlet in the agricultural land in Survey No.72/3B2 belonging to the seventh respondent, the petitioner has submitted a representation on 16.12.2022 to the second respondent. Although the second respondent called the petitioner for enquiry on 01.02.2023, without going to the facts and circumstances, mechanically the impugned order dated 20.02.2023 was passed, rejecting the prayer made by the petitioner in his representation. He pleaded that since Survey No.72/3B2 is an agricultural land, the __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 respondent authorities are to be restrained from opening the TASMAC outlet in the said land. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner placed heavy reliance on an order dated 19.7.2019 passed in W.P.No.20076 of 2019 [C.Muthusamy v. The State of Tamil Nadu and others] by a Co- ordinate Bench of this Court, wherein it has been categorically observed that a TASMAC shop should not be set up over an agricultural land. 4. Mr.K.Sathish Kumar, learned Standing Counsel appearing for respondent No.6, submitted that the seventh respondent, who is the owner of the land in question has given no objection to the establishment of TASMAC outlet in the agricultural land and, therefore, the writ petition may be dismissed. 5. It is beyond any cavil that the land in question is classified as punjai land and this Court in C.Muthusamy, supra, has categorically held that TASMAC shop should not be set up over agricultural land. That apart, a perusal of the photograph filed in support of the writ petition shows that the proposed TASMAC shop is surrounded by __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 agricultural fields, which is in gross violation of the law laid down in C.Muthusamy, supra. 6. This Court is unable to accept the submission of learned Standing Counsel for respondent No.6 that the seventh respondent has given no-objection for setting up of the TASMAC shop in the agricultural land. While scrutinizing the merits of the agricultural land and the TASMAC shop, the former gives us food for our existence and the latter reduces the life expectancy. 7. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is allowed and the respondent authorities are restrained from opening the TASMAC shop in the agricultural land in Survey No.72/3B2, Patta No.1902 situate at Naduvalur Village, Thuraiyur Taluk. There will be no order as to costs. Consequently, W.M.P.No.8178 of 2023 is closed. (T.R., ACJ.) (D.B.C., J.) 16.03.2023 Index : Yes/No Neutral Citation : Yes/No bbr __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 To: 1.The Home Secretary, Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai. 2.The Commissioner, Prohibition and Excise, Chepauk, Chennai. 3.The District Collector, O/o. The District Collector, Trichy District, Trichy. 4.The Tahsildar, O/o. Tahsildar Office, Thuraiyur Taluk, Trichy District, Trichy. 5.The Block Development Officer, Thuraiyur Block, Trichy District. 6.The Manager, O/o. District TASMAC Office, Old Building, 1st Floor, DRO Room, Trichy. __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis W.P.No.7922 of 2023 THE HON'BLE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE AND D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J. bbr W.P.No.7922 of 2023 16.03.2023 __________ https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis