The Madras High Court on Wednesday reserved orders on a public interest litigation petition filed against installation of a statue for former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Tiruvannamalai town. The court deferred the verdict after it was informed that it had been planned to unveil the statue on June 3, his birth anniversary.
Justices M.S. Ramesh and Mohammed Shaffiq took the decision after Jeeva Educational Trust, managed by Minister for Public Works E.V. Velu’s son E.V. Kumaran, filed an application to the vacate an interim injunction granted by the court on May 19 restraining the Minister and the trust from going ahead with the installation of the statue.
Representing the trust, senior counsel S. Prabakaran told the court that the statue was being installed only on a private land and that allegations of public lands having been encroached upon was completely wrong. He also impressed upon the need for an urgent hearing of the case since the birth anniversary of the leader was nearing.
