Madras HC temporarily restrains Perambalur municipality from shifting Narayanasamy Naidu’s statue

The Madras High Court on Monday restrained the Perambalur municipality from shifting the statue of farmer leader G. Narayanasamy Naidu until the local body disposes of a representation made against the proposed move.

The Madras High Court on Monday (February 3, 2025) restrained the Perambalur municipality from shifting the statue of farmer leader G. Narayanasamy Naidu until the local body disposes of a representation made against the proposed move to shift it to a new location, within a period of two weeks.

Justice J. Sathya Narayana Prasad directed the Peramabalur municipality commissioner to consider and dispose of the representation made by a farmers’ association secretary R. Raja Chidambaram within two weeks, and directed the officer not to take any coercive action till then.

The orders were passed on a writ petition filed by Mr. Chidambaram to forbear the municipality from removing the statue from the south-eastern corner of the Perambalur new bus stand. The petitioner’s counsel feared that the statue, installed 26 years ago, might collapse if it was shifted elsewhere.

On the other hand, Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran told the court the municipality had decided to shift the statue only 7 ft away from its present location to facilitate free movement of vehicular traffic and for the expansion of the passage to the bus stand.

The AAG also stated the municipality commissioner would dispose of the petitioner’s representation within two weeks.