The Madras High Court quashed a DMK government order allotting ecologically sensitive sand dune land to a private school as alternate land after its original property was resumed for temple purposes, holding that the decision was illegal, unconscionable and contrary to the State’s environmental obligations.
Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, allowing a writ petition filed by St. Joseph’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Cuddalore district, sharply criticised the government for attempting to assign sand dunes for development and invoked both environmental jurisprudence and spiritual imagery in doing so.
“When this land of the petitioner is taken back for the Temple purposes and instead Sand Dunes is given as alternate land, it is apt to quote Hubert Reeves who said – ‘Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he’s destroying is this God he’s worshiping’,” the court said.
As reported in Verdictum, the judge added, “This case is a clear example. Without realising that these Sand Dunes are also the incarnation of Lord Sri Devanatha Swami, who protects its land and people, the authorities deemed it fit to allocate to the petitioner, for development. In their endeavour to protect the sentiments of the devotees of the Temple, they had attempted to give away God himself. Without considering the ecological importance of the sand dunes, the Government acted recklessly, in violation of the public trust doctrine imposed upon it.”
The case arose out of a long-running dispute involving land in Koothapakkam village, Cuddalore, purchased by the school in 1979 from the government through G.O. Ms. No. 404 of the Education Department. The school had been operating on 5.77 acres, but objections were later raised over 3.40 acres on the ground that the land had historically been used for the purposes of Arulmigu Devanatha Swami Temple and had been wrongly auctioned after being taken over by the government.
In earlier litigation challenging the resumption of the land, the school agreed, in the interest of communal harmony, to exchange the disputed property if suitable alternate land was allotted for the institution. Recording that position, the High Court had in 2019 directed the State to allot not less than 4½ acres either in Bhuvanagiri village or any other land in Cuddalore district situated near the town or village with easy access to the main road or abutting the road.
However, instead of allotting comparable land, the State issued G.O. Ms. No. 414 dated July 1, 2025, offering the school 4.5 acres in Survey No. 74/1 of Periyapattu village, Bhuvanagiri Taluk. The land was classified as government poramboke sand dune land, was about 34 km away from Cuddalore town, lacked proper road access and was valued at only ₹2.17 crore, whereas the resumed school land had been valued by the government at ₹8.14 crore. The school challenged the order as violative of the earlier court direction and unsuitable for educational purposes.
The court agreed with the school and held that even on the face of it, the government order was against larger public interest. It observed that sand dunes are natural buffers protecting land from storms, act as sand reservoirs, serve as habitats for flora and fauna, and form an eco-sensitive system of utmost importance.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s decisions in Intellectuals Forum, Tirupathi v. State of Andhra Pradesh and State of Telangana v. Mohammed Qasim, the court reiterated that such environmentally sensitive lands are held by the State in public trust and that ecosystems are not merely objects of protection but subjects with a right to survive and exist. It held that those principles had been completely disregarded in this case.
The court also found the State’s conduct inconsistent with the spirit of the earlier undertaking. It noted that when land worth about ₹8 crore in Cuddalore town was taken back from the school, the alternate land offered was worth only about ₹2 crore, located 34 km away and inaccessible, directly contradicting the purport of the earlier order requiring suitable land for running an educational institution.
During the proceedings, the government indicated that it was examining other possible parcels, including land in Thiruvanthipuram village and Arisi Periyankuppam village. The court noted that one of those alternatives was too small and of lower value, while another appeared agreeable to the school subject to verification of its classification and legal feasibility under revenue records.
Quashing G.O. Ms. No. 414, the court directed the petitioner school to approach the Cuddalore District Collector with a copy of the order. It ordered the Collector, in consultation with other authorities, to make sincere efforts to examine the feasibility of land in Survey No. 146/7 of Thiruvanthipuram village and, if feasible, allot an appropriate extent reflecting equal value to the school. If that land is not feasible, the authorities must identify any other suitable land in and around Cuddalore Corporation.
The court said the alternate land should preferably be inside or adjoining the town, not more than 10 to 12 kilometres away, and must have access suitable for establishing an educational institution. It further directed that identification of such land be completed within four weeks, followed by finalisation and a government decision within six weeks. If no suitable land can be identified within the time prescribed, the State must refund the value of the resumed land to the petitioner school.
Senior counsel Father Xavier Arulraj appeared for the petitioner school, while Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran appeared for the State.
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