Jayalalithaa's nephew, niece entitled to inherit her properties: HC

State can't acquire Jayalalithaa’s house, Veda Nilayam, sans consent of legal heirs, rules Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Wednesday declared former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa's nephew J. Deepak and niece J. Deepa as Class II legal heirs entitled to inherit all properties left behind by her. Consequently the State Government cannot acquire her Veda Nilayam bungalow without their consent.

Justices N. Kirubakaran and Abdul Quddhose allowed an application filed by Mr. Deepak and granted a letter of administration to him and his sister for administering the properties.

They also recorded the submission of the siblings that they shall select a few properties at their discretion and use them for creating a public trust named after Jayalalithaa for welfare measures.

Holding that the government could not acquire Veda Nilayam, the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, without the consent of the legal heirs, the judges expressed their reservation over using public money to acquire private properties and convert them into memorials.

They suggested that the government could instead utilise the Poes Garden property, worth over ₹100 crore, as the official residence-cum-home office of the State's Chief Minister and convert a portion of it alone into a memorial.