The Madras High Court held a special sitting on July 7 to hear a writ petition seeking permission for burying murdered Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Tamil Nadu unit president K. Armstrong’s body within the party office premises at Perambur in Chennai and raise a tomb over there.
Justice V. Bhavani Subbaroyan heard the writ petition filed by the deceased leader’s wife A. Porkodi, 50, and suggested that the body could be buried for the present in any of the three alternative places suggested by the Greater Chennai Corporation and then shifted to a better location.
The judge said, it may not be possible to allow the burial of the body within the party office premises since it was located in a residential area with a narrow approach road. She also said, the extent of the party office land was only around 2,400 square feet in which a superstructure was already in existence.
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When the petitioner’s counsel Krisha Kumar said, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) had permitted the burial of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader Vijayakant in his party office at Koyambedu last year, Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran said, it was a very large extent of land.
“We have a heart but our hands are tied,” the AAG said and added the GCC Commissioner had passed an order refusing permission to bury the body of Armstrong on BSP party premises in Chennai because it was a thickly populated residential area with a narrow approach road.
The AAG, however, said, the State government had identified three other alternative places where the body could be buried and one of them, spread over 2,000 square feet of land, was just 1.5 km away from the place where the petitioner intends to bury the body.
Finding force in his submissions, the judge said, the petitioner could accept the government’s proposal and bury the body in any one of the alternative locations for the present and then shift the body to some other better location after purchasing a good property with proper approach roads.
Since many of Armstrong’s followers may gather to pay respects to him, the judge said, a situation such as the Hathras stampeded should not end up happening here too. Therefore, it was advisable to bury the body in a proper location, she said and granted time till noon for the petitioner’s counsel to get instructions.
The BSP State leader was hacked to death by an armed gang in Chennai on Friday night.
