Chennai: The Madras high court has declined to direct the Chennai corporation to reopen the CPS Global School at Arignar Anna Nagar in the city till the end of the academic year 2018-2019.
Justice T. Raja dismissed the petition filed by 10 students of the school which sought a direction to the Chennai corporation to consider the representation of their parents, dated December 16, 2018, to reopen the school which was situated on land belonging to the civic body.
Mr N.G.R.Prasad, counsel for the petitioners, said that if some breathing time was given to the parents, they would be able to make alternative arrangements for the education of their children. They would not create any disturbance against the Chennai corporation in reclaiming possession of the land.
Additional advocate general Narmada Sampath submitted that the Supreme Court had dismissed the petition giving liberty to school to enjoy one year subject to the filing of the usual undertaking. The school failed to file the undertaking. Since it had its own land measuring over 30,000 sq.ft and highly sophisticated smart buildings with floor area of more than 55,000 sq.ft around the land belonging to the corporation, which was encroached by the school, the kindergarten students can be easily accommodated in the school’s own buildings, she said.
Jstice Raja said: “I fully agree with the submissions made by AAG. The reason being that the minor petitioners represented by their parents cannot maintain the petition since the prayer made in the petition has already been refused by the Supreme Court.”
“When the school has miserably failed to file a usual affidavit to enjoy one year’s time to vacate the premises, it is not known how the petitioners have come up with the present prayer. Secondly, the very same prayer has been refused by the Division Bench of this court,” Justice Raja said.
The judge said the principles of res judicata (a matter that has been adjudicated by a competent court and therefore may not be pursued further by the same parties) apply between the past litigation and the future one, as finality has been reached in respect of the land in question before the Supreme Court.
Fourthly, the counter affidavit filed by the Chennai Corporation showed that after the dismissal of a similar prayer by the Division Bench the corporation had taken physical possession of the land on December 14, 2018.
