KOCHI: The High Court has quashed the government order regarding the acquisition of the Theerthapada Mandapam also known as Pathrakkulam pond in Thiruvananthapuram. The court also directed the government to return the property to the Sree Vidyadhiraja Sabha within a month. A bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran passed the order on a petition filed by Vidyadhiraja Sabha Secretary Dr R Ajayakumar seeking quashing of the government order acquiring the Theerthapada mandapam.

65 cents of land known as Pathrakkulam has been owned by the Sabha since 1976. Later, a memorial to Chattambi Swamy was erected here. The government took over the land on allegations that the pond was illegally filled and a building was constructed and the land given to the Vidyadhiraja Sabha was illegally handed over to the Vidyadhiraja Trust.

The government also argued that when the land was given to the Sabha in 1976, it had not paid the fixed amount in full. However, the High Court said that the government was not able to produce any evidence to support this. The single bench ruled that the government can take legal action to acquire the land if it gets any evidence regarding this.