Madras HC orders maintenance of status quo on road-laying

The First Bench of Acting Chief Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice J Sathya Narayana Prasad granted the injunction while passing interim orders on two PIL petitions from Rangarajan Narasimhan of Srirangam in Tiruchirappalli.

The Bench said the status quo order would not stand in the way of the authorities reconstructing the damaged wall of the temple.

Advocate-General R Shunmugasundaram submitted that authorities were not using any explosives either for laying the road or for any other purpose on the hill. At the instance of the villagers, they had suspended the work and as of today no activity was carried on. The temple wall, which got damaged in the rains, would be reconstructed by the authorities, he added and prayed for time to file a detailed counter.

The Bench recorded the submissions and directed the authorities to maintain status quo till then and posted the matter for further hearing before another Bench, led by Justice R Mahadevan, on December 2.