The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the State government to evict the Shanmuga Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA), a deemed university, from 31.37 acres of government land. The land in Thanjavur has been occupied by the university for nearly 40 years. A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan said the Thanjavur Collector can seek police help to carry out the eviction within four weeks. This land is required for building a prison. The court passed this order after dismissing two writ petitions by SASTRA challenging a 2022 Government Order (G.O.) that refused to assign the government land to the university. The government had rejected the university's offer to exchange three other properties it owns nearby. The court said, “Assignment of an encroached land cannot be claimed as an absolute right by the encroachers.” It noted the government has full discretion to accept or reject alternative land offers. The judges added, “The petitioner has not established even a semblance of legal right” to the land. Justice Subramaniam pointed out that the university has been litigating over this land for almost 30 years, delaying the government's plans. “The government is unable to implement a public purpose project for the past more than three decades on account of continuous litigations,” the bench said. The university had offered three lands for exchange: 32 acres opposite its Thirumalaisamudram campus, 36.16 acres adjoining its campus, and 86.80 acres of agricultural land nearby with amenities. The government rejected this offer, intending to use the government land for the prison project. The eviction must happen within four weeks.