The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a review petition against eviction filed by a group of residents from the southern banks of Buckingham canal in RA Puram in Chennai. Justices M Venugopal and S Vaidyanathan were hearing a review petition filed by over 90 residents from Elango Street at Govindasamy Nagar in Raja Annamalaipuram against a judicial order that was passed in February last year ordering eviction of residents from their houses constructed close to the Buckingham Canal and resettle them in Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements.
They had contended that their slum had been notified by the state under the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, and hence they were not encroachers.
Refusing to review the verdict, they said that the court could not be forced to rehear the matter de novo through a review petition. According to The Hindu, “An erroneous decision can be subject to an appeal to a higher forum but a review is impermissible on the ground that the court of law proceeded on a wrong proposition of law,” the judges had said.
As part of the previous judgement, the Court had also said that State government could withdraw ration cards, disconnect water and power supply and deny government benefits such as Pongal gifts to those who refuse to shift to TNSCB tenements.
An interim order passed by the court in December read, “It is needless to mention that the respondents can take coercive steps such as disconnection of electricity, water supply and withdrawal of ration card to ensure that the encroachers do not get any benefits from January 2019. “The Chief Secretary to Government is directed to circulate the above order to the respective departments, such as electricity, civil supplies and Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board for necessary action.”
Subsequently, the issue was taken up to the Supreme Court following which a review petition was filed with the High Court.