Tamil Nadu govt. accepts proposal, in principle, for new buildings for Madurai Bench of Madras HC: A-G

He tells Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan that a G.O. would be issued in two weeks and the foundation stone-laying ceremony can be conducted thereafter

Updated - October 28, 2026 05:28 pm IST - CHENNAI

Madurai Bench of Madras High Court. File | Photo Credit: R. Ashok

The Tamil Nadu government has, in principle, accepted a proposal sent by the Madras High Court administration for the construction of additional buildings for its Madurai Bench on a temple land acquired right opposite the present court buildings at Ulaganeri in Madurai, according to Advocate General Vijay Narayan.

Appearing before a Division Bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan, the A-G said, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, Law Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, and Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson would clear the files, and a Government Order according administrative and financial sanction shall be issued within two weeks.

Mr. Narayan said, the High Court administration had revised the construction plan for creating additional infrastructural facilities on the acquired land and sent a proposal, along with detailed estimates, to the State government by a letter dated October 1, 2026. The letter was received by the government on October 7, 2026.

After examination, the Home Department had forwarded the file to the Public Works Department (PWD) on October 16, 2026. The PWD cleared the file on October 27, 2026, and on the same day, it was forwarded to the Finance Department. The process shall be completed within a fortnight, he said.

“In principle, the proposal has been cleared. I have got oral instructions from the Chief Secretary (M. Sai Kumar) that the project has been cleared. It is only a question of movement of the file. As soon as possible, the foundation stone for the construction can be laid,” the A-G told the Division Bench.

Mr. Narayan also said, the State government was keen on clearing the proposal regarding judicial infrastructure across the State. He said, there were around 900 proposals and of them, the High Court’s Registrar General Deepthi Arivunithi had provided a list of proposals that had to be cleared on priority.

“I have spoken to the Finance Secretary (M.A. Siddique) and he is very proactive in providing much better infrastructure for the courts. Not only the High Court, but all courts in the State. They have assured me that all the proposals would be cleared one by one,” the A-G told the Division Bench.

After recording his submissions, the Bench adjourned the matter by three weeks. It was in 2019 that advocate M. Saravanan had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to the government to acquire 9.49 acres of land belonging to Kothandaramaswamy Temple in Othakadai, Madurai.

The court heard the matter along with two other PIL petitions filed for clearing the garbage, including animal waste dumped by nearby meat shops, on the temple land and directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board authorities, as well as the local body officials, to keep the property clean.

On June 10, 2023, the High Court administration sent a proposal to the government indicating that it requires 6.51 acres of the land for creating additional infrastructure facilities such as car parking, construction of additional quarters for the court staff along with a community hall, construction of an auditorium/conference hall, and also a digitisation centre attached with a record room for the Madurai Bench.

Thereafter, mutiple legal hurdles had to be cleared before the government could acquire a substantial portion of the land in 2025 and deposited the consideration of ₹17.63 crore in a district court on September 24, 2025, since there were rival claimants over the property.

After the acquisition, the High Court’s building committee (comprising sitting judges) approved a construction plan but it could not be proceeded with since the model code of conduct came into force during the 2026 general elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

‘Why did it take a week?’

During the hearing on Wednesday, Justice Jayachandran wanted to know why the High Court’s construction proposal dated October 1, 2026, was received at Fort St. George only on October 7, 2026. “Will it take seven days for a communication to travel a distance of a little over two kilometres?” he asked.

The A-G said, though the High Court administration’s communication was dated October 1, 2026, the Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due (RPAD) receipt showed that it had been posted only on October 6, 2026. Therefore, the government had received it only on October 7, 2026.