Madras HC stays order letting CMRL construct station through temples on Whites Road

The CMRL had issued the notice to acquire only the OSR land and not the land belonging to the insurance firm and this fact was not taken into account by the single judge.

Madras High Court temporarily stayed an order of a single judge who had allowed the CMRL to construct a station at Thousand Lights through Sri Rathina Vinayagar and Durgai Amman temples on Whites Road. (Photo | Express)

CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday temporarily stayed an order of a single judge who had allowed the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to construct a station at Thousand Lights through Sri Rathina Vinayagar and Durgai Amman temples on Whites Road, without disturbing the United India Insurance Company Limited’s premises.

The interim stay was granted by the bench of justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar while hearing an appeal filed by an organisation, Aalayam Kappom Foundation, which challenged the order of Justice N Anand Venkatesh passed on March 11. The division bench ordered notice to the respondents and adjourned the case by four weeks.

Senior counsel S Ravi, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the first bench of the court had disposed of a PIL filed by the organisation by recording the proposal of CMRL that the proposed entry and exit points of the station would be shifted to the premises of the United India Insurance. CMRL had accordingly issued a notification for proposed land acquisition to the company.

However, the single judge had quashed the notification of CMRL for acquiring land belonging to the firm under section 3 (2) of Tamil Nadu (Acquisition of Lands for Industrial Purposes) Act, 1997 for constructing the entry and exit on a petition filed by the United India Insurance, without taking into account the first bench’s order, he said.

The CMRL had issued the notice to acquire only the OSR land and not the land belonging to the insurance firm and this fact was not taken into account by the single judge.

Advocate General PS Raman submitted that CMRL will have no objections to go ahead with the constructions as per this proposal. It may be recalled that Justice Anand Venkatesh, while quashing the notification, stated, “God will forgive us. God will protect the petitioners, the authorities, and also the author of this judgment. God will be with us.”

He had also reasoned that it would be completely contrary to public interest to tear down a building/or portions thereof of a recently constructed structure put up at a cost of Rs 200 crore by a public sector entity, after obtaining all clearances and NOC from the CMRL.