The Madras High Court on Monday ordered that the buildings constructed on 31.37 acres of government land being occupied by Shanmuga Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA), a deemed university in Thanjavur, for over three decades, shall now remain under the symbolic custody of the High Court till the disposal of a case filed by the institution against the government’s refusal to assign the lands to it.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala made it clear that the symbolic control over the buildings would in no way disturb the stay of the students in the hostels or their studies in the institution. Initially, the judges intended to give the symbolic control to the Collector. However, they changed their mind after senior counsel P.H. Arvindh Pandian, appearing for the university, feared interference by the government.
The judges further directed Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran to file an affidavit along with supporting documents and sketches on August 24, to prove his assertion that a portion of the government land under the occupation of the university had been classified as a water course. The AAG told the court that the university would not be entitled to the benefit of exchange of lands, since a portion of the encroached land was a water course.
