HC directs Director General, Defense Estates to hold probe

The Madras High Court has directed the Director General of Defense Estates, New Delhi, to hold an inquiry against then Chief Executive officer of St Thomas-cum-Pallavaram cantonment in the matter of granting license for erection of hoardings in the Hoardings Free Zone.
After recording the statement of Counsel for Cantonment Board that an impartial departmental inquiry would be held against the then CEO, the court said: "We direct that the inquiry be held by the Director General, Defense Estates, New Delhi in the matter and the result of the inquiry be placed before us to ensure that the matter could be taken to its logical conclusion."

The court then directed to send a copy of the order to the Director General.
A batch of petitions had challenged cancellation of allotment of hoardings near the airport and GST road.
When the pleas came up yesterday, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, directed the Cantonment Board to refund the deposit amount to the licensees with interest at the rate of nine per cent.
"The interest would be calculated from the date of its deposit with the cantonment Board at the rate of 9 per cent. It is open to the Board to claim the interest paid from the delinquent officer.The aforesaid puts the controversy to rest, except to the extent to the then CEO of the cantonment Board cannot get away by merely being posted out as he is responsible for the mess."

The bench, while reiterating its earlier order that hoardings have been set up in a hoarding free zone and that too mostly on the land of State Highways Authority, in its order, said "It is this which had culminated in the notice issued by the CEO of Cantonment Board for removing the hoardings."
The matter relates to the notice issued by the present CEO dated July 9 to remove all hoardings erected in the Hoarding Free Zone (license for which was granted by then CEO) which was challenged by advertisers.
The bench granted one month time for removing the hoardings by those who had installed it.