Madras HC shows green signal for unveiling of Karunanidhi statue in Tiruvanamalai

The statue was originally scheduled to be unveiled on the occasion of Karunanidhi’s 99th birth anniversary celebrations, on June 3, at Tiruvannamalai.

City resident G Karthick had filed the petition praying for a direction to the authorities concerned to remove the encroachment in Vengikkal village in Tiruvannamalai district and its surrounding areas. It alleged that A Rajendran, who was owning a land measuring just 92-1/2 sq. ft., however, in collusion with the government authorities, secured patta over and above the land owned by him. In the encroached portion, attempts were being made to put up the construction for the installation of Karunanidhi’s statue, which would cause greater inconvenience to the public at large.

The other respondents in the petition included an educational trust and DMK minister E V Velu.

During an earlier hearing, the Additional Advocate-General had raised objection to the petition by stating that there was no illegality in the matter. The writ petition was not maintainable as the petitioner, a resident of Chennai, had no locus to file the petition, he had stated.

Considering the allegations and counter allegations, the then vacation bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and J Sathya Narayana Prasad had directed the authorities and the parties concerned to maintain status-quo in the matter.

Later, the bench granted an order of interim injunction restraining the Jeeva Educational Trust, by its managing trustee E V Kumaran, son of minister Velu and the DMK leader himself, in any way laying or erecting the statue or putting up any further construction in the property in question, pending disposal of the petition.

When the matter came up for further hearing on June 1, the DMK impleaded itself as a party respondent in the case and argued against the PIL before the bench of Justices M S Ramesh and Mohammed Shafiq. The bench was told that there was no encroachment on public or private land, as alleged by the petitioner. The statue would be erected within the confined area of patta land. And the bench had reserved its orders that day.

After one or two hearings, the matter came up before the first bench led by CJ Bhandari today, which dismissed the PIL as withdrawn

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