By IANS,
Chennai : The Madras High Court Wednesday said that the inspection of an estate in Kodanadu said to be partly owned by AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha’s was “illegal”.
Justice K. Chandru, while hearing a petition filed by Kodanadu estate manager R. Ravichandran, said the inspection was illegal as “the rules framed under the Panchayat Act were not followed”.
The Kodanadu estate on hills near Kodaikanal, 500 km south of here, is said to partly owned by Jayalalitha. Earlier this month, the district collector of Nilgiris and other local officials had inspected the premises on surprise visits.
On April 25, the Tamil Nadu assembly witnessed a fracas between the ruling DMK and the opposition over this estate.
There is a legal wrangle over alleged violation of norms while constructing a building inside the property.
But Justice Chandru set aside a notice issued by the Kodanadu panchayat union to demolish the building inside the estate. He noted that the estate management had obtained legal permission for the construction of the building.
The judge said the show-cause notice for “irregularity” to the estate and Jayalalitha “was not based on any credible” evidence.
The local people also wanted a public road through the estate, but the court had Monday ruled that it was illegal to have such a road through private property.