Expressing annoyance over government advocates competing with one another in defending the Sholinganallur DMK MLA Aravind Ramesh for putting up an unauthorised construction in the MLA office building, the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner to take immediate appropriate action in accordance with law to demolish the construction and not permit it to be used for any purpose whatsoever.

Holding that the excuses were completely unacceptable, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalau, before whom a plea moved in this regard by D Vijayabharathy came up, said, “Prima facie, that appears to be an act of extreme anarchy. No law-maker can take the law into his own hands and put up a construction on government land however pious the intention may be, because the relevant government department has not put up a construction according to his demand.”

The MLA of Sholinganallur constituency had requested for the construction of a public meeting hall in the premises of the existing MLA office building. When the PWD did not take up the construction, he took it upon himself to have the hall constructed.

During the hearing, P Muthukumar, the counsel appearing for the State, justified the act as being done for the cause of the public at the MLA’s cost and that he would not claim ownership, while Karthikaa Ashok, counsel for the Corporation, submitted that the illegal structure put up by the MLA on government land need not be demolished as it was within the Corporation’s powers to regularise the same. Refusing to agree to these submissions, the bench directed the Corporation Commissioner to report to the court when the matter is taken up again in a week.