Ambedkar & Periyar Respected Leaders, No Objection On Installing Their Statues In Tamil Nadu: High Court

Directing the Thoothukudi District Collector to take a decision on a resident's representation seeking permission to install statues of social reformer Thanthai Periyar and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar at his property, the Madras High Court has said there cannot be any objection from anyone against it as both of them are respected by people in the state."As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, there cannot be any objection from anyone for erecting the statues of Thanthai Periyar or Dr.Ambedkar. The people individually have respects for these leaders," said Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup.Allowing the prayer for seeking a decision on the petitioner's representation dated August 23, the court said, "The District Collector may pass appropriate orders based on the representation of the Petitioner on merits and in accordance with law within a period of two weeks from the date of this order".The petitioner in his plea said that earlier he and other persons belonging to the Dravidar Kazhagam, the social movement founded by Periyar, had jointly installed statues of Periyar and Dr. Ambedkar on the highway land adjacent to his property in 1991. However, during the extension work of the East Coastal Road project, the full-length statue of Periyar and Dr. Ambedkar was removed temporarily and kept at the petitioner's residence. After the project was completed, the petitioner planned to install the statues at his own premises but he was harassed by the police authorities, the plea alleged.During the hearing, the counsel representing the government informed the court that the Tahsildar had already submitted a report to the District Collector, and that the property belongs to the petitioner. All the revenue records are in his name and there cannot be any objection to put statues of Periyar and Dr Ambedkar in his patta land, the court was told The government counsel also said there is no rival claim or objection from anyone, as per the Tahsildar's report. She also referred to the guidelines issued by the Commissionerate of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management in 2019 for installation of the statues. "The report of the Tahsildar is in the light of the above letter. The Tahsildar had verified the bona fide of the Petitioner with regard to the claim of the ownership of the land," the government counsel submitted.Case Title: Kaladi v. District Collector and othersCase No: W.P(MD) No.22010 of 2022Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Mad) 420Click here to read/download the judgment

Ambedkar & Periyar Respected Leaders, No Objection On Installing Their Statues In Tamil Nadu: High Court

Upasana Sajeev

Tags