Madurai: Madras High Court bench on Thursday granted anticipatory bail till September 3 to former Union Minister and expelled DMK leader MK Alagiri in a case relating to alleged grabbing of land of a local temple.
The District Crime Branch and anti-land grabbing special cell had filed a case against Alagiri, son of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, stating that he had created false documents for the purpose of cheating and had grabbed 44 cents of land belonging to Vinayagar temple for Dhya Engineering college at nearby Sivarakottai, run by a trust headed by him.
The complaint about the alleged land-grabbing had been lodged by the Assistant Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Board, Karunanidhi.
Justice K Kalyanasundaram granted bail to Alagiri till September 3 and posted the case for hearing on that date.
Alagiri, founder-president of MK Alagiri Educational Trust submitted that the Trust, set up to provide education for poor students, had constructed Daya Engineering college and had purchased several tracts of land.
He said the land in question was located outside the college and purchased from one Sampath through proper means by payment of cheque and sale deed. It originally belonged to another man who had given it to a woman in exchange for the land he had given to her.
Sampath had purchased it from the woman and the Trust had bought it from him. While this was the fact, the HR&CE Department had 'suddenly' put up a fence on land bought by the Trust, he said and pointed out that two civil suits regarding the case are pending in civil courts.
Alagiri said he had to fight for three years to get affiliation for his college, for which state authorities had placed several hurdles. The charges levelled against him in the complaint were made with malafide intention and averments were without material facts, he said, and pleaded innocence.
Alagiri submitted he and his family members are law abiding citizens and would not abscond and would abide by the condition of the court and sought anticipatory bail in the case registered against him by the anti-land grabbing cell police.
