The Supreme Court on Monday (September 21, 2026) asked the Tamil Nadu government to explore if suitable alternative land was acceptable in lieu of government land allegedly encroached upon by SASTRA University in Thanjavur.
The High Court had upheld the State government’s rejection of its request for assignment or exchange of government land and directing its eviction. Senior advocate C.S. The CJI suggested that if the alternative parcels offered by SASTRA were not acceptable, the State government could identify land of its choice and the university could pay its market value. “If the market price comes to you, you buy the land of your choice. Mr.
The court was hearing SASTRA University’s plea against a Madras High Court order of January 9. He said the State government seemed to be in favour of a contiguous parcel of land spanning 86.8 acres, but later changed its position. Because of the pending litigation while the university had continued construction on the encroached land, he said that the State government’s proposed open-air jail could not be constructed.
A three-judge Bench said the land in dispute was used by an educational institution serving a public purpose. The court, at one point, asked why the State government was so “obstinate” on eviction and demolition of the institution. The Bench said the State government could identify an alternative site for its proposed open-air jail and have the university bear the cost of it. Vaidyanathan, appearing for SASTRA, told the court that the university had offered three parcels of land to the State government. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the State government, said the alternate parcels were inferior to the disputed land in terms of value, accessibility, and contiguity. Or you identify the land, we will tell them to buy the land for you,” the CJI said. Dwivedi said that such an approach could amount to putting a premium on encroachment.
