A single judge of the Madras High Court has allowed a writ petition filed by the United India Insurance Company Ltd. (PIL) challenging a notice issued by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to acquire its property for the construction of a metro station. The CMRL had initially planned to acquire the premises of the Arul Mighu Sri Rathina Vinayagar and Durgai Amman Temple for the station, but later announced that it would shift the station’s entrance to the petitioner’s building, United India Insurance Company’s new head office. However, the CMRL then issued a notice to the insurance company to show-cause why its property should not be acquired.
The high court observed that the acquisition of lands belonging to religious institutions is permissible, but that the notice issued by the CMRL offends Article 14 of the Constitution by violating the principle of promissory estoppel. The court also noted that the CMRL’s actions were premeditated and that the company had staged a “Hamlet” without the Prince of Denmark, meaning that the CMRL was aware of the potential consequences but did not take them into consideration.
The court allowed the writ petition and quashed the CMRL’s notice, allowing the CMRL to proceed with its original plan to construct the metro station within the temple premises. The court’s decision was delivered by Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, who observed that the CMRL’s actions would benefit lakhs of people and would be a boon for the public.