Consider plea seeking permission for TVK flag post, Madras HC directs Greater Chennai Corporation

The Madras High Court on Monday (February 3, 2025) directed Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials to consider a plea for granting permission to erect actor-turned-politician C. Jospeh Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) flagpost at Tiruveethi Amman Kovil Street in Aminjikarai.

The Madras High Court on Monday (February 3, 2025) directed Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials to consider a plea for granting permission to erect a flag post of actor-turned-politician C. Jospeh Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) at Tiruveethi Amman Kovil Street in Aminjikarai.

Justice J. Sathya Narayana Prasad disposed of a writ petition filed by party advocate K. Sarath Kumar by granting him two weeks’ time to make a fresh representation to the GCC officials and directed the latter to dispose of the representation within six weeks thereafter.

In his affidavit, the petitioner claimed to be a resident of Tiruveethi Amman Kovil Street where many political parties had already erected their flag posts on a corner piece of land abutting the public road without causing any disturbance to free movement of vehicular traffic.

However, when he intended to install his party’s flag post at the street corner, the Assistant Engineer of Zone-8 raised an objection and insisted that the flag post could not be installed without permission from the higher officials of the local body, the petitioner complained.

He claimed to have made a representation, seeking permission, to the officials concerned on July 18, 2024, and followed it up with a reminder too on August 9, 2024. Since there was no response to those representations, he had chosen to approach the court seeking a direction to grant permission.

Mr. Kumar claimed the location identified by him for erecting the TVK’s flag post did not fall under any of the prohibited places listed under the Tamil Nadu Open Place (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act of 1959 and therefore, there could not any impediment in granting permission.

On the other hand, the standing counsel for the GCC told the court that there was, in fact, a legal hurdle in granting permission. She said, the officers concerned would consider the petitioner’s representation and dispose it of within a reasonable time.