MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the CBI on a petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged illegal conversion of government land into house plots worth over Rs 50 crore in Thanjavur district.
The petitioner D Padmanaban stated that the aforesaid land, measuring upto 55,164 sq ft in Aulandhammal Nagar in Thanjavur, was to be used to build a municipal school and the same was approved by the municipal administration in 1971. Since then, the land was in the name of the commissioner of Thanjavur municipal corporation, he added.
However, the patta was illegally transferred to one Ponnumani's name in 2022 and the said action was not questioned by the corporation authorities, Padmanaban alleged.
The land was also converted into house plots and one of the plots stands in the name of the wife of Thanjavur Mayor Ramanathan, the petitioner further claimed and said, "The mayor, corporation commissioner, revenue divisional office and tahsildar have manipulated the revenue and municipal records and sold the property as house plots and illegally gained more than Rs 50 crores."
Apprehending that the state police may not be able to conduct a fair investigation into the matter, Padmanaban sought a CBI investigation. Justice KK Ramakrishnan, who heard the plea, issued the notice and adjourned the case to December 16.