Court permits AIADMK to appeal against verdict quashing Veda Nilayam acquisition
The Hindu
Grants leave for third party appeal and orders listing of the case for hearing on Dec 20
A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday permitted the AIADMK and former Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam to prefer third party appeal against a single judge’s recent verdict , to acquire former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s residence Veda Nilayam in Chennai and convert it into a memorial.
Justices Paresh Upadhyay and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup granted the leave after concurring with senior counsel A.L. Somayaji that the AIADMK would certainly have a right to agitate the order against converting its former leader Jayalalithaa’s residence into a memorial. They, however, observed that it was a completely different issue as to whether the political party would be entitled to any relief after arguing the appeal on merits.
Opposing the plea to grant leave for prefering the third party appeal, S.L. Sudarsanam, counsel for Jayalalithaa’s nephew J. Deepak, argued that the party had no locus standi at all to prefer the appeal since the acquisition was made by the State and not the party. He also contended that the plea seeking leave to appeal had become infructuous, since the present government to Mr. Deepak and his sister J. Deepa.