Madras high court sets aside acquisition of Veda Nilayam for Jayalalithaa memorial – Times of India

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Thursday set aside the acquisition of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s residence — Veda Nilayam — by the Tamil Nadu government for establishing a memorial for her.
Allowing the pleas moved by her legal heirs J Deepa and J Deepak, Justice N Seshasayee directed the state to hand over the property to them in three weeks.
The court also questioned the necessity of establishing a second memorial for the late CM when there is a memorial for her in Marina.
On January 27, the judge passed an interim order restraining the state from throwing open the Poes Garden property to public as a memorial.
According to Deepa and Deepak, they are emotionally and sentimentally attached to the Poes Garden residence of their aunt.
“We have plans to use it for doing charity through a public trust in her name,” they said.
They further alleged that the authorities had not given an opportunity to them to submit their objections against the acquisition of Veda Nilayam in total violation of the principles of natural justice as mandated by the Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
“A division bench of this court which declared me as a legal heir of Jayalalithaa has also directed us to establish a public trust in my aunt’s name with a few of the properties to do charity. State’s action in acquiring the property to convert it into a memorial will be against the order,” they added.
They added that acquisition for public purposes as claimed by the state to build a memorial would not fall under the permitted grounds of acquisition under the Act.