Why did the TN government deny land on Marina Beach for Karunanidhi's burial?

Although the E Palaniswami-led government of Tamil Nadu declared a one-day holiday and a week of mourning after celebrated politician M Karunanidhi passed away on Tuesday, it courted controversy by denying land for his burial at the famous Marina Beach.

The Tamil Nadu government's Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan had told the press yesterday that land could not be allocated for burial on Kamarajar Salai due to several cases pending in Madras High Court and the legalities involved.

She said that the state government was, however, ready to offer two acres of land opposite to Anna University on Sardar Patel Road (Adyar), near Gandhi Mandapam in Guindy.

The move irked Karunanidhi's son and DMK Working President MK Stalin, who had requested Chief Minister E Palaniswami that his father be buried near Anna Samadhi, the memorial of DMK founder CN Annadurai. The dispute was taken to Madras High Court, which eventually ruled in DMK's favour.

Why did the AIADMK government deny burial land on Marina Beach?

The Tamil Nadu government had stated that there are five public interest litigations (PILs) before the Madras High court which contested that constructing memorials on Marina Beach was against the Coastal Regulation Zone Act (CRZ Act).

Traffic Ramaswamy had earlier filed a PIL against the construction of Jayalalithaa's memorial at Marina Beach, saying it was in violation of CRZ regulations.

He had also sought the relocation of the mausoleums of MGR and Annadurai from Marina Beach. There were three other similar petitions against construction of memorials on Marina beach, filed by PMK's Balu, D K Doraiswamy and Adv. V Gandhimathi.

It is also noteworthy that in January 2018, a Division Bench of Madras High Court headed by the then Chief Justice Indira Banerjee had orally expressed opposition to the construction of Jayalalithaa's memorial at Marina Beach, according to a LiveLaw report.

The court had then observed that the Marina was the second longest beach in the world and that "no hindrance to access of the beach should be placed".

However, earlier in the day, Gandhimathi's PIL in the Madras High Court seeking to restrain the Corporation of Greater Chennai from permitting burials on Marina beach was dismissed as withdrawn following an urgent request, The Indian Express reported.

The move was seen by many as a way to clear legal hurdles in the way of Karunanidhi's burial near Anna Samadhi.

In the midnight hearing held at the residence of Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh, four of the five petitioners were ready to withdraw their PILs. The hearing was adjourned until 8 am this morning.

However, Traffic Ramaswamy had refused to withdraw his petition.

What were the other reasons cited by the Tamil Nadu government?

In their counter argument presented this morning, the AIADMK government also contested that only sitting chief ministers (such as MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa) were buried at Anna Square and that memorials of former chief ministers (like K Kamaraj and Rajaji) were built at Gandhi Mandapam in Guindy.

The government's counsel also said that late DMK chief himself had not permitted the allocation of land for former chief minister Janaki Ramachandran after understanding the protocol.

However, Madras High Court quashed these arguments, allowing Karunanidhi's mortal remains to be buried at Marina Beach.

Isn't former CM and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa also buried at Marina?

It is also noteworthy that when former CM and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa died in December 2016, the ruling AIADMK had circumvented the rule by burying her in the existing memorial built for her mentor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran.

According to Section 319 of the Chennai City Municioal Corporation Act, no new place for the disposal of the dead, whether public or private, shall be opened, formed, constructed or used unless a license has been obtained from the commissioner on application.

The ruling AIADMK is going to build a memorial modelled on a phoenix to symbolise Jayalalithaa's grit and political comebacks. To be surrounded by landscaped gardens, the memorial is expected to cost Rs 50 crore, NDTV  reported.

What transpired at Madras High Court?

In an unexpected move, activist Traffic Ramaswamy told the judge on Wednesday that he has no objection to the burial of Karunanidhi at Marina, paving the way for the Madras High Court to pronounce a ruling in DMK leader Stalin's favour.

The DMK submitted in court that it would be inappropriate to bury Karunanidhi next to the memorials of Rajaji and K Kamaraja near Gandhi Mandapam at Guindy since their ideology was completely different from that of the DMK patriarch.

The party said that the denial of burial at Marina Beach will hurt the sentiment of at least one crore supporters across Tamil Nadu.

After a marathon hearing, the Acting Chief Justice announced that Karunanidhi's mortal remains will be laid to rest at Marina Beach, overruling objections presented by the state government.