Chennai: Madras high court on Friday refused to stay the operation of an order passed by a single judge directing the Tambaram Police Commissionerate to vacate a private building occupied by it at Sholinganallur within two years.The first bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan refused to grant any interim relief on an appeal moved by the state govt challenging the order of the single judge dated Aug 11, 2025.
The court, instead, admitted the appeal, directed the owners of the building to file their response, and adjourned the hearing by two months. On Aug 11, 2025, a single judge of the court passed the order since the state govt failed to honour its commitment to pay 10.14 lakh plus GST as monthly rent for the building after occupying the premises in Dec 2021.Making a volte-face against the agreed rent, the state unilaterally fixed a rent of 6.33 lakh, allegedly based on the PWD guidelines. Aggrieved, the owners of the premises made a representation to the authorities to vacate the building.Since they failed to respond, the owners of the building, D H Sarath K Kumar, D Venkaatesh, and D N Choudery, approached the HC. Opposing the plea, the state contended that the issue was purely a civil dispute; therefore, a writ petition was not maintainable.Allowing the plea, the single judge directed the state to settle the arrears of monthly rent up to June 2025 to the tune of 2.18 crore plus 18% GST on or before Dec 31. The state shall continue to pay a monthly rent of 13.50 lakh from July 2025 to Dec 2025. Thereafter, for the years 2026 and 2027, there shall be an increase in rent by 10%, and the same shall be paid every month without fail, the judge added.
