Bhuvana Marni
Published on: 28 October 2022 at 11:51 IST
The late freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar’s statue will be adorned with 13 kg gold armour as part of the Guru Pooja celebrations marking his birth anniversary, the Madras High Court directed the District Revenue Officer, Madurai.
The Justice Bhavani Subbaroyan of the Madurai bench noted that it was difficult to operate the joint account locker facility with the Pasumpon Thevar Ninaivalayam and receive the golden armour that had been kept in the respondent bank’s locker facility because claims and counterclaims were pending between the AIADMK factions of O Paneerselvam and Edappadi Palanisamy.
“This Court is of the view that since the armour was directed to be placed on the deity, coupled with an obligation in MoU that the said gold armour will be received by the treasurer of AIADMK party and the third respondent who would operate the said account and redeposit the same with Bank is certainly not possible as there is a claim and counterclaim by A and B parties.”
The court noted that celebrations and the adorning of the golden armour could not be stopped just because of rival claims between the parties.
“That apart, in the given situation, the Court also has to look into the aspect of holding the customary event by celebrating the occasion and also the adorning of gold armour on the deity (Guru Po.oja) should not be stopped merely because there is a dispute between two factions, namely, A and B party of AIADMK.”
Late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha donated 13 kg of gold armour to the AIADMK party in 2014 to decorate the statue of Freedom Fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar during his birth anniversary celebrations, which take place between October 27th and 30th.
The AIADMK party and the Pasumpon Thevar Ninaivalayam jointly managed the account where the armour was kept in a locker. Getting the armour from the storage facility is challenging since there are ongoing disputes around party leadership.
As a result, the court ordered the bank to accept the trust’s sole signature, and it further ordered the DRO of Ramnad District to sign, accept, and transport the armour to the celebration site.
The court ordered the DRO in Madurai District to take possession of the armour because the DRO in Ramnad District was unable to physically receive it on the same day. The police were also directed by the court to provide the required protection.
The court further ordered the OPS and EPS factions to refrain from interfering with the collection, adornment, and redeposition of the armour.