CHENNAI: Holding that government authorities cannot stop a person from raising statues in private land unless it may cause serious issues, the Madras High Court has permitted a Salem-based activist to raise a memorial structure for late Father Stan Swamy who had rendered service for the upliftment of the highly oppressed tribal communities in Central India.
Setting aside the July 16, 2021 notice of the Nallampalli Tahsildar stopping Piyush Sethi (Piyush Manush) from raising a stone pillar with the picture of the priest, Justice M Dhandapani, in a recent order, granted permission for constructing the memorial structure at Nekkundi village, Nallampalli Taluk in Dharmapuri district.
The judge cited the judgment passed in R Kanthavel vs The Principal Secretary case regarding the liberty to construct statues in private patta land.
“In view of the reasonings stated supra, the impugned notice dated July 16, 2021, passed by the second respondent (Tahsildar) is not proper and therefore, this Court is inclined to set aside the same. Accordingly, the impugned notice is set aside and consequently, liberty is granted to the petitioner to erect the stone pillar of Fr. Stan Swamy in his private patta land,” the judge said in the recent order.
However, he stated that it is made clear that while erecting the said stone pillar no hindrance to the public shall be caused.
Govt opposes
Additional GP U Bharanidharan, representing the district collector and the Tahsildar, submitted that raising the memorial structure to a person, who had been related to the Naxals and Maoists, would cause law and order problems in the area.
Government Advocate L Baskaran, appearing for the Pennagaram DSP, argued that recently the tribal hamlets have turned into a paradise for the convergence and breeding of anti-social elements with ideology opposing the government and its functions.
He also said that the place, where the stone pillar is going to be raised, is sensitive and unveiling it would lead to communal clashes.
Referring to these allegations, the judge reasoned that when an allegation put forth against a person is not proven, then the said allegation is a nullity. In the instant case, Fr. Stan Swamy had put efforts for the welfare of tribals and the issue on hand is the erection of his statute/stone pillar in the petitioner's private land.
“As a general principle, the law grants the citizens the right to install statues in their private property.”
He said, however, the only restriction is that such an erection of the statue should not bring any conflicts between two communities or in a way that would hurt the feelings of a particular society.
Dr V Suresh, representing the petitioner, had submitted that the memorial structure was intended to be set up on private land, a coop forest, which is located in a far-off village.
In the absence of any statutory provisions that bar the erection of statues on private land, issuance of the notice against the petitioner by the Tahsildar is unsustainable and illegal, he said.
He added that the petitioner was inspired by the social service of the late priest.
It may be recalled that the Catholic priest was arrested in 2020 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon incident. Suffering from Parkinson disease, he died in in 2021. The jail authorities’ reluctance to provide him a straw and sipper led to widespread outrage and condemnation.