The Madras High Court has dismissed a public-interest petition seeking to stop Tamil Nadu’s proposed new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam in Chennai, clearing the immediate legal challenge to the state government’s plan for the Rs 1,200 crore administrative complex.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan heard the petition on October 5. The case was filed by advocate R.S. Tamilvendhan, who sought directions to the Tamil Nadu government to abandon the project.
The state had decided in August to construct a new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam. Preliminary works had begun, according to the report, and Chief Minister Vijay had announced the proposal in the Legislative Assembly. The government subsequently issued an order setting out the estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore.
During the hearing, the judges questioned the basis for describing the expenditure as a waste of public money. The Bench also asked where the court derived the authority to direct the government not to construct a building at a particular location.
The judges pointed to the limits on judicial intervention in policy decisions. The court also observed that the petitioner had filed the case without conducting any study or providing reasons, and described the petition as having been filed for publicity, according to the report.
The petition was dismissed at the petitioner’s request. The order leaves the proposed Pattinapakkam Secretariat without the legal restraint sought in the public-interest case. The reported decision does not, however, provide further details on the project’s construction schedule, design, land arrangements, procurement process or the specific preliminary works already undertaken.
The proposed Secretariat would become a major government administrative facility in Chennai, placing the project’s cost, site planning and implementation process within the scope of public scrutiny as the state proceeds with its next steps.
