Plea in Madras High Court seeks to move Jayalalithaa's body from Marina
Chennai: Madras high court has admitted a PIL, which sought a direction to the Chennai corporation to remove the body of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa from Chennai Maria beach situated behind the memorial of former chief minister M.G.Ramachandran and bury it elsewhere other than the coastal area.
A division bench comprising Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee also ordered notice to state and Union governments and posted to August 18, further hearing of the petition filed by advocate S. Doraisamy, which also sought to restrain authorities from constructing any memorial for Jayalalithaa at Marina Beach behind the memorial of MGR.
According to Doraisamy, after a prolonged trial in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate wealth case, the trial court found Jayalalithaa guilty of charges framed and sentenced her to four-year imprisonment and fine of Rs 100 crore.
Though the Karnataka high court acquitted her, on appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the order and confirmed the judgment of the trial court. Unfortunately she escaped the jail term, since she died even before the verdict of the Supreme Court, he added.
In the list of the great personalities, Jayalalithaa’s name cannot be included since she went to jail not for public cause but for indulging in corrupt practice of looting TN of '53 crore, he said. If a memorial was raised for Jayalalithaa, it will be a dishonor to the great personalities and patriots, he added.
He said by applying section 321 (4) of the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act, the disposal of corpse of Jayalalithaa in the unregistered and unlicensed place was violation of the provisions of the Act. Hence, the burial as against the provisions of law and it was liable to be removed from the said place. Moreover, under the Coastal Regulation Zone notification, no construction can be raised within 500 metres from the high tide line. But the proposed memorial was situated within 100 metres. Hence, the authorities were liable to be restrained from constructing a memorial for Jayalalithaa in the Marina beach, he added.
