CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday granted interim stay against the installation of a statue of the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in Tiruvannamalai town after the district administration sought more time to file a report on whether the site was encroached.Justices SM Subramaniam and J Sathya Narayana Prasad passed the order restraining Minister EV Velu and Jeeva Educational Trust (run by his son EV Kumaran) from installing the statue at Vengikkal based on a petition by G Karthick of Tiruvannamalai town.
“We are inclined to grant an order of interim injunction restraining the 14th and 15th respondents from laying or erecting a statue or putting up any further construction in the property in Vengikkal pending disposal of the writ petition,” the bench said. Tiruvannamalai collector was ordered on Wednesday to ascertain whether there was any encroachment at the proposed site as alleged by the petitioner and file a report by 10.30 am on Thursday. The collector, however, sought time to collect details from several officials.
The petitioner alleged that Velu, Jeeva Educational Trust, and A Rajendran, who owns the adjacent land, colluded with officials to encroach public land at Vengikkal in Tiruvannamalai town to install the statue. He said the proposed ‘illegal’ construction would cause traffic snarls, as thousands of devotees throng Lord Arunanachaleswarar temple, and disrupt water flow during rains.