Madurai, July 23: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has issued an interim stay on a previous order that directed the removal of flagpoles belonging to political, religious, and caste-based organisations from public spaces.Earlier this year, Justice G.K. Ilanthirayan had passed an order on January 27 instructing the removal of all such flagpoles installed on government lands, highways, and panchayat areas within 12 weeks.
This order was challenged by Shanmugam, the State Secretary of AMMK, and others. Their petitions were initially dismissed by a single judge. However, they appealed the decision, and a division bench comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and K. Rajasekar set aside the earlier verdict, recommending the matter be heard by a full bench.
The case was then heard by a three-judge bench including Justices S.M. Subramaniam, R. Vijayakumar, and S. Soundar. Senior advocate N.G.R. Prasad, representing the petitioners, argued that the flagpoles were installed with proper permission and should not be removed.
The state government, represented by Additional Advocate General Paskaran, said that permissions were obtained in most cases, and the government would follow the High Courtās directions.
Following the hearing, the bench ordered a stay on the earlier directive. Existing flagpoles can remain for now, and the next hearing has been scheduled for six weeks later.