
Emphasising upon the need to speed up trials of land grabbing cases, the Tamil Nadu government has moved the Supreme Court against a judgment quashing the establishment of special anti-land grabbing police cells and courts to investigate and try such cases.
The state has come in appeal against a recent Madras High Court judgment, holding the special police force was prone to abuse and misuse of power by the officers. The state government, however, questioned the rationale, arguing a mere possibility of abuse of the law could not be a ground to strike down any legislation or a government order and the apex court has held so in various judgments.
The Tamil Nadu asserted these special courts were meant to speed up the trial but no prejudice would be caused to any accused since the trials would abide with all the generic provisions of the law. It also opposed the High Court’s finding that once the special anti-land grabbing cells were to be done away with, there was no use of the special court constituted to try such cases.
The government had issued two orders in 2011, forming 36 anti-land grab cells in the state and setting up as many as 25 special courts to try land grabbing cases.