The Madras High Court Bench here has ordered notice to the Pudukottai district administration in a contempt petition.
Petitioners S. Thangavel, S. Gurusamy and T. Muthukumar said they had migrated from Sri Lanka to Mathagam in Pudukottai district nearly four decades ago.
They were originally Indian citizens, had gone to Sri Lanka for agricultural work and had returned to India in 1973, they claimed.
A total of 36 families had settled in Mathagam and were given 5 cents each by the government, the petitioners said.
Only three families that migrated from Sri Lanka are living in Mathagam now and the others have moved to other districts, they said. According to the petitioners, a few ‘influential people’ have encroached into the lands that were allotted to the families from Sri Lanka.
On 14, December 2012, they had obtained an order from the High Court Bench here with directions to the District Collector of Pudukottai to measure the lands allotted to the families from Sri Lanka, within four weeks from the date of judgment.
But the Collector had not complied with the directions of the court despite representations, the petitioners claimed. Justice K. K. Sasidharan has ordered notice to the Collector, the Assistant Director of district land survey department and the Tahsildar of Aavudayarkoil taluk. The case has been adjourned to April 17.
