The Madras High Court on Friday allowed the eviction of St. Peter’s Matriculation High School from 2.14 acres of government land on Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road in St. Thomas Mount in Chennai after discovering that evictions had been resisted for decades.
Justices SM Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan dismissed a plea filed by the school management challenging the state government’s refusal on 10 June 2025 to stay the eviction proceedings and instead allot the entire government land located in the cantonment area in favor of the school.
The judges noted the submission of advocate Chevanan Mohan, representing the Cantonment Board, that the land in question belonged to the state government and therefore the state government was fully entitled to invoke the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905 to evict the unauthorized occupants.
After examining the records, the judges found that the East India Company had leased the land for the first time in 1802 in favor of Krishnaswamy Chetty and Govindarajul Chetty for a period of 50 years. The lease was extended twice for the same number of years and finally expired in 1952.
During the tenure of the lease, the legal heirs of the lessee transferred their leasehold rights to Saiyid Gul Mohammed Yarya Karim Suhrawardy alias Hilal Karim by a deed signed on 2nd April 1932. Accordingly, in 1952 the Government extended the lease in favor of the company
The extension was granted for a period of 30 years subject to the payment of an annual premium of ₹1,027.80 and also subject to the provisions of the Cantonment (Housing Accommodation) Act, 1923. This lease expired on 31 October 1982 but before that the property was sublet to Dr. Mrs. Cornelius.
The government also found that the lessee had violated the terms of the lease, which clearly stated that the property must be used only for a residential house and not for purposes such as running a hospital, hotel, bank, shop or school, without the prior approval of the officer commanding the division.
On April 28, 1977, a government order was issued to restore land. However, several lawsuits immediately followed, and the eviction proceedings were delayed due to stay orders and the time it took the state to lift those orders.
Finally, the government has now relented and refused to part with the school property on the grounds that it was necessary for the construction of government offices, hence the latest writ petition.
Published – 13 Dec 2025 0:43 IST
