The acquisition of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence in Chennai by the state government was annulled on Wednesday by the Madras High Court.
The verdict came on a petition filed against the takeover of the late Jayalalitha’s sprawling house by her niece and nephew J Deepa and J Deepak who are her legal heirs.
The erstwhile AIADMK government had proposed to convert the home– Veda Nilayam –into a memorial. The AIADMK had contended that the party has a "responsibility and right" to convert the house into a memorial and that this was the “wholehearted desire of the people of Tamil Nadu and AIADMK party workers.”
But Jayalalithaa's niece and nephew, who were declared her legal heirs by the court, had argued that the takeover would amount to "grabbing the property".
In July last year, the state government had deposited Rs 67.9 crore in a city court to take possession of the 0.55-acre property.
Jayalalithaa, revered as Amma across the state, had died in December 2016 after a prolonged illness. The four-time Chief Minister, known for her Amma canteens and a host of other welfare measures, was an icon for the masses in the state.
