The Chennai High Court has restrained the Commissionerate of Land Administration (CLA) order to take over 40 acres of land owned by Malayalam film actor Mammootty and his family at the Karunguzhipallam village in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpattu district.
Mammootty and his actor son Dulquer Salmaan jointly own this land. The High Court, earlier in August this year, had restrained the CLA’s move to seize the land. Further, the high court had also ordered that no action be taken against the petitioners until further orders are issued.
In March this year, the actor and his family had filed a joint writ petition in the court against an order passed by CLA on March 16, 2021. The CLA order stated that the land should be declared as a wetland under the Tamil Nadu Forest Act of1882 and should be protected as a reserve forest.
The court directed the CLA to issue an order within 12 weeks after hearing Mammootty and his family side’s explanation.
The Chennai High Court, which heard the case, had ordered that no drastic action be taken against the land. The case came up for hearing again before Judge Ilanthirayan. At the time, actor Mammootty and his family argued that the order was issued to reclassify the land without asking for their side’s explanation.
The judge, meanwhile, ordered the matter to be referred back to the Commissionerate of Land Administration (CLA), who sought an explanation from Mammootty’s party and directed the Commissionerate of Land Administration to issue an appropriate order within 12 weeks.
