MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought a clear response from the Southern Railway, Madurai Division, on a contempt petition filed against it for allegedly making a false statement before the court in a PIL filed to reinstall a fish statue at Madurai Railway Junction as if the statue was already erected.
A Bench of justices R Suresh Kumar and KK Ramakrishnan noted that the railway authorities filed a report that an alternative place had been approved to reinstall the three-fish statue within the Railway junction premises on December 10, 2018. The same was communicated to the TN Chamber of Commerce, and ‘bhoomi puja’ was also performed in 2021, the report added. But the project did not fructify, the judges noted.
Instead, the counsel appearing for Southern Railway informed the court that in view of some development works worth Rs 300 crore in the Madurai Railway junction, it may not be feasible to reinstall the statute in the above land. Pointing out that the authorities were making contradictory statements in the report and the hearing, the judges directed the railway authorities to submit in writing to the court on June 14.
The judges also allowed an application filed by the TN Chamber of Commerce to be added as a party in the case. They further permitted the petitioner to file an application to add Madurai Corporation also as a party to the case, not as a contemnor but to assist the court.