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N. Sankaranarayanan v. Chairman, Tamil Nadu Housing Board and Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 117Decided 31 Jan 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 7390-7391 of 2009
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

The appellant, a member of a family that inherited property from a common ancestor, filed a writ petition seeking a mandamus directing state authorities (the Housing Board, the municipal corporation, and the development authority) to act against two other respondents who were operating a petrol pump and a marriage hall on the disputed family land in Chennai. The real dispute was essentially a private family/property quarrel among the six branches of the family, already also the subject of proceedings before the Company Law Board. The High Court's Division Bench dismissed the writ petition as misconceived, and the appellant (along with a connected appeal by another family member) approached the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court agreed entirely with the High Court, holding that the dispute was a private property/family dispute dressed up as a public-law writ petition, which is not maintainable under Article 226/227 against private individuals over private property rights: the proper remedy lay in a civil court. The Court noted the appellant had not filed the petition as a public-interest litigant, and questions like ownership, tenancy, and the terms of the family's settlement memorandum could not be adjudicated in writ jurisdiction. It expressly declined to express any opinion on the merits of the underlying family dispute, leaving the parties free to pursue civil remedies and leaving the Company Law Board proceedings to continue on their own merits. Both connected appeals were accordingly dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

A writ petition under Article 226 cannot be used to resolve what is really a private dispute between individuals (such as a family property quarrel) merely by naming government bodies as parties: the correct forum for such disputes is a civil court.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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