Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s nephew J Deepak has approached the Madras High Court demanding the keys to her property in Chennai’s Poes Garden. His plea comes a day after the government of Tamil Nadu informed the court of its plans to convert a portion of ‘Veda Nilayam’ into the Chief Minister’s official residence. In May this year, the court had declared Deepak and his sister J Deepa legal heirs of the late AIADMK chief.

In his petition filed on Thursday, Deepak reportedly said that Veda Nilayam was purchased by his grandmother and was subsequently bequeathed to Jayalalithaa, who used the property with utmost care. He stated that many family events were held in that house and that his aunt had never expressed a desire to convert her house into a memorial. He added that the state government has been taking steps to convert that property into a memorial and the objections made by himself and his sister have not been taken into account. 

Deepak demanded that the court quash the notices issued by the state government to take over the property and pass orders to hand over the keys to him. He argued that fresh opportunity must be given to him and his sister J Deepa to record their objections to the acquisition process initiated by the state government since they were declared Jayalalithaa’s legal heirs on May 27, 2020.

Deepak alleged that the provisions of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 concerning the social impact assessment and environmental impact assessment have been violated by the government. He stated that the acquisition of Veda Nilayam to use it as a memorial does not fall under ‘public purpose’ and thus must be quashed.

On Wednesday, the Madras High Court dismissed a plea by the residents association of Poes Garden and Kasthuri Estate House Owners’ Association against converting the former Chief Minister’s house into a memorial.