Veda Nilayam as memorial: HC dismisses activist’s plea

Chennai

A division bench comprising Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice R Suresh Kumar dismissed the plea as withdrawn after the counsel appearing in the case for the petitioner conceded to lack of details and hence preferred to withdraw the plea.

Ramaswamy had submitted that as the property was a subject matter of many legal proceedings, the State government cannot convert the residence into a memorial by spending public money.

He also claimed in his plea that the Supreme Court had declared that a portion of the property was acquired by Jayalalithaa during the period of misappropriation (1991-96) and that the Income Tax department had attached the property for tax dues. He further submitted that a commission of inquiry headed by a former judge of the High Court was probing into the death of the former chief minister, pointing out that the commission was yet to complete its probe.

The move had also received strong criticism from the Poes Garden neighbourhood and more than 100 of them have made representations to the State government opposing the plan during the public hearing conducted by the authorities, he added in the petition.