The Madras High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on the AIADMK appeal against the single-judge order that had quashed the plans for a memorial to former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa at her erstwhile Poes Garden residence.
The appeal was filed by former Law Minister C.V. Shanmugam and the AIADMK challenging the HC order dated November 24 to quash the proceedings of acquiring Veda Nilayam, the former CM’s residence, and convert it into a memorial.
The division bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay and Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup observed there was no doubt in the appellants’ locus being the former AIADMK minister C.V. Shanmugam, and the AIADMK for filing the third-party appeal as the leave was granted upon satisfaction of the same.
On November 24, Justice N. Seshasayee allowed the plea by J. Deepak and J. Deepa, the children of Jayalalithaa’s brother, where acquiring Veda Nilayam and converting it to a memorial by a Tamil Nadu Government order was challenged.
Jayalalithaa owned Veda Nilayam and died intestate on December 5, 2016. The nephew and the niece were declared Class-II legal heirs to Jayalalithaa and were also entitled to inherit her estate by a previous order in 2020.
During the proceedings on Monday, the bench questioned why the appellants did not approach the single judge bench during the pendency of the matter before it and also if the abstinence was because the AIADMK was in power when the land acquisition proceedings were challenged initially.
Senior Advocate A.L. Somayaji, appearing for the appellants, contended that the Jayalalithaa Memorial Foundation was already a part of the proceedings before Justice N. Seshasayee and the second appellant being the former Minister is a founding member of the foundation. The former government had been defending the acquisition of Veda Nilayam and its conversion to a memorial, and there was no requirement for the AIADMK to approach the court, hence AIADMK was not a party to these proceedings then.
Also Read: Allahabad HC rejects bail plea of Pilibhit man accused of forcibly marrying minor girl
The senior counsel argued that there are no allegations in the pleadings of original writ petitioners about ‘malafides’ or ‘public policy’ and nothing in the pleadings alleges that the acquisition is an unauthorized act.
Advocate General R. Shanmugasundaram appearing for the state submitted that the SIA application is meaningless if there is no physical displacement of those who are being affected by the said acquisition and the matter is in regard to ownership transfer of a residential house in a coerced manner.
Senior Counsels Satish Parasaran and ARL Sundaresan, appearing on behalf of J. Deepak and J. Deepa, submitted that AIADMK and C.V. Shanmugam did not choose to get impleaded when the original proceedings were going on.
Also Read: Madhya Pradesh HC dismisses political party petition alleging discrepancies in EVMs
According to the RFCTLARR Act. the appellants here were not ‘persons aggrieved’ under the Sections 3(x) of the Act. It mentions about the ‘interested persons’ in a acquisition proceeding. AIADMK is neither losing the property of late J. Jayalalithaa nor is it an acquisitioning authority, hence it cannot be equated with the state.
The senior counsel further submitted the rule 6 of the RFCTLARR mandates the acquisitioning authority to satisfy itself that the proposed acquisition is going to serve the public purpose and the conversion of the residence does not serve any public purpose.
Further, the counsel added that memorials are not the only way to remember a person in the era of technology while rebutting the submissions made on behalf of the appellants that the memorials are necessary for cherishing the memories and her contributions. A memorial for Jayalalithaa already exists on Marina Beach.