The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition filed against the State government’s Thanthai Periyar Award for Social Justice 2022 having been given to poet Kali Poongundran of Dravidar Kazhagam. The court did not find any merit in the claim that he had not even applied for the award.
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Justice Anita Sumanth refused to entertain the writ petition filed by another applicant D. Sridhar of Tiruvallur district after a government counsel submitted before the court a copy of the application filed by Mr. Poongundran on October 25, 2022 pursuant to a call given by the State government.
In his affidavit, the petitioner had stated the award carried with it a cash prize of ₹5 lakh, a certificate and a gold medal. He claimed to have applied for the award since he had been doing social service despite his indigent circumstances for many years and contended that 23 others too had applied for it last year.
However, the award was given to Mr. Poongundran who had not even applied for it, the petitioner claimed and sought a direction to the government to reconsider the issue and give it to one of the 24 applicants.