Madras High Court directs principal secretary to appear before court

The First bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana before which a PIL filed by an advocate, ‘Elephant’ G. Rajendran, came up for hearing directed that affidavit be filed by the principal secretary and officer fully familiar and authorised to take decisions in two weeks. They should be personally present in the court on the next date of hearing.

The petitioner said the Mahamaham festival, celebrated once in 12 years, which is equal to Kumba Mela, is scheduled between February and March 2016. The festival is scheduled to be held on February 26. More than 40 lakh devotees are expected from various parts of the country and take a holy dip in the tank.

During the previous Mahamaham festival, several people died. The Chief Minister was among those who took a holy dip. The government sanctioned Rs 260 crore for this festival.

The petitioner alleged that the authorities had not cleared the channels in Kumbakonam. A large number of unauthorised buildings had been constructed in the town. The authorities had taken effort to seal these buildings. The authorities undertake all important works only a month prior to the festival in a hasty manner. He prayed the court to appoint a monitoring committee headed by a retired high court judge with IAS and IPS officers and an auditor as its members.

The Bench said, “It is stated that no officer who was competent to instruct on these aspects is present in the court. Hence, we direct the principal secretary and officer fully familiar and authorised to take decisions to be personally present on the next date of hearing.