Order allowing metro station construction on temple land stayed

Chennai: Madras high court on Tuesday stayed a single judge order permitting Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to construct a metro station on temple land on Whites Road in Royapettah. A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice K Rajasekar passed the order on an appeal moved by Aalayam Kaapom Foundation, an NGO.
On March 12, a single judge of the court allowed the acquisition of two temple land plots for metro rail work, stating that God would forgive the takeover if the development benefits devotees as well. The issue pertains to land owned by Rathina Vinayagar Temple and Durgai Amman Temple. A PIL was filed opposing the acquisition.
Due to opposition to acquiring the temple plots, CMRL informed the court that it planned to acquire land on a site belonging to United India Insurance on Anna Salai instead of the temple land. Aggrieved, the insurance company moved the court, claiming it spent 250 crore on developing its building after it received an NOC from CMRL.
Recording the submission, the court said CMRL's action amounted to a gross violation of principles of natural justice on all levels since it undertook to acquire the company's land without first informing it. "CMRL has no right to resort to such a move, more so when it earlier gave NOC to the insurance company to set up its head office in the area," the judge said.
Challenging the order, the NGO moved the present appeal. When the plea came up for hearing, the bench passed an interim order staying the single judge order and adjourned the hearing after four weeks.