Order in housing board case upheld

CHENNAI: The orders of a single judge dated August 30 last year, which directed the TN Housing Board to re-convey the lands acquired in Kalapatti village in Coimbatore district back to the owners, was upheld by the First Bench on Tuesday.Conceding the contentions of advocate P Chandrasekaran, the Bench comprising Chief Justice MY Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam observed that it was of the definite opinion that the action of the State in giving different treatment to the land owners was highly arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The single judge had rightly allowed the writ petitions from the land owners and his judgment needed no interference, the Bench added.Originally, the government sought to acquire 1,973.74 acres for its plan in Kalapatti in 1998. But it ultimately passed the awards only for an extent of  671.10 acres.