Plea against acquisition of Jaya’s house referred to division bench

After hearing submissions from both government and the petitioner, Justice Anand Venkatesh said that a division bench headed by Justice N Kirubakaran had held Jaya’s nephew and niece as her legal heirs and had directed the creation of a trust in Jaya’s name to manage the property. As both pleas have common links, it was better for the division bench to hear the case, he said.

Appearing for Deepak, advocate Sudarshan submitted that Deepak’s objections were yet to be heard despite a direction from the court to hear him out. He added that with Deepak and his sister being been declared the legal heirs of the late leader, the government could not proceed with its plan of converting her residence into a memorial.

However, denying this, Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that a notice in this regard was sent to Deepak in 2018 and the objections he raised were recorded. Efforts were under way in ascertaining the value of the property and so far, objections have been received from Deepa, Deepak and the Income Tax department, which has claimed Rs 36 crore from the former Chief Minister.