Siruthavur land dispute: Inquiry commission submits report to Karunanidhi

Justice K P Sivasubramaniam Commission, which probed into the Siruthavur land scam involving Ms Chithra, a close aid of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her friend Sasikala, on Sunday presented its report to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Retired Madras High Court Judge Mr Justice K P Sivasubramaniam, who headed the one man Commission, submitted the 813-pages report to the state Chief Minister Mr K Karunanidhi at the Secretariat.

After submitting the report, Commission's secretary Mr James said, on the complaint preferred by the then state secretary of CPI(M) Mr Varadarajan to the government stated that the 53 acres of land which belong to the dalits was grabbed by a relative to Ms Sasikala who is a close associate of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The government appointed the commission to inquire in to it.

"The commission inquired into it for the past three years and recorded evidence of 40 persons and officials and prepared two volumes of report containing 813 pages", James added.

The report is likely to be tabled in the state Assembly when it meets for budget session in March.

The DMK Government had constituted the commission following a complaint that Ms Jayalalithaa and Sasikala had appropriated more than 50 acres of land allotted to Dalits in 1968 at Sirudhavur of east cost, and they built a bungalow there.

The CPI(M) had staged a series of protests, demanding the government take over those lands and redistribute it to the Dalits.

Then CPI(M) Secretary N Varadarajan had given a complaint to the Government following which the Government constituted the commission.

Former Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa used to stay in the Siruthavur Buglow, which was owned by Chithra, who is the Director of Barani Beach resorts Ltd.

After Justice Sivsubramaniam started inquiry Ms Chithra filed several petitions in the Madras High court challenging the validity of the commission, and those were turned down.

The Supreme Court on December 8, 2009, gave liberty to the Justice K.P. Sivasubramaniam’s Inquiry Commission to submit its report to the State government.

A Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice B.S. Chauhan, passed a brief order on an application filed by State Chief Secretary K.S. Sripathi that the Commission should be permitted to submit its report.

The apex court bench in its interim order said that the Commission appointed in the alleged land grabbing charges will be at its liberty to file the report before the Government.

The Bench was hearing the Chief Secretary’s application in the appeal filed by T. Chitra and J. Ilavarasi (another director of Barani Beach resorts), challenging the Madras High Court judgment upholding the setting up of the Commission.

Ms Chithra submitted in her Special leave Petition (SLP) that some political opponents had given a complaint to the state government stating that the land which now they were holding was allotted to dalits under the Centrally sponsored scheme, Settlement of Land to Landless Agricultural Laborers in 1968, and the inquiry commission was appointed by the state government with ulterior motive.

The petitioners further alleged that the Commission was targeted at former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, alleging that she had forcibly grabbed the lands,though she has nothing to do with the property. It was contended that an inquiry commission could not be appointed for undertaking a fishing/roving enquiry based on vague allegations and hearsay evidence.

The SLP further stated that the Commission was set up without a proper resolution being passed in the Assembly and on the basis of a statement made by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. She also contended that the constitution of the inquiry Commission by the state government was illegal.

The Main SLP is still pending in the Supreme Court.

- Asian Tribune -