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Goundamani wins 20 years legal battle to regain his 50 crore property

| TOI Entertainment Desk | etimes.in | Oct 9, 2024, 15:48 IST

Actor Goundamani has reclaimed his property worth 50 crore rupees... Read More

Goundamani has successfully won a 20-year old legal battle to reclaim his property worth 50 crore rupees. The popular actor initially purchased 5 grounds and 454 square feet of land in 1996 but faced delays and abandonment from the construction company he hired.

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Goundamani, a leading comedy actor in Tamil cinema, purchased 5 grounds and 454 square feet of land on Kodambakkam Arcot Road from Nalini Bai in 1996, intending to build a commercial establishment. According to The Hindu, he paid 3.58 crore rupees to the construction company Sri Abirami Foundation, which was supposed to complete the project in 15 months. However, the company delayed the work and eventually abandoned the project by 2004.

Following this, Goundamani filed a civil case in the High Court in 2006 against the construction company, seeking the recovery of the property. The presiding judge, Krishnan Ramasamy, ruled that "the company can only demand payment after fully completing the construction. Compared to the completed work, the construction company has received 63 lakh rupees more from actor Goundamani. Therefore, the five grounds and 456 square feet of land should be returned to Goundamani, and starting from August 2008, they should pay him one lakh rupees per month."

Challenging this ruling, the construction company filed an appeal in the Chennai High Court in 2021. The bench of two judges, upon reviewing the appeal, stated that since the company did not complete the construction after receiving money from Goundamani, they could not legally retain the property and had no right to keep it. Thus, they upheld the single judge's order. The appeal filed in the Supreme Court against the Chennai High Court ruling was dismissed. In this context, yesterday (Oct 8), encroachers and properties on the site were removed with police protection. The retrieved site was locked, and court officials handed over the keys to a person named Mathesh in the presence of Goundamani's lawyer, Sasikumar.