Chennai: The Ashram Matriculation Higher Secondary School run by superstar Rajinikanth's wife Latha Rajinikanth was locked by the landlord on Wednesday for non-payment of rent.
Around 400 students from the school were shifted to another campus in Velachery.
The school authorities said a civil dispute is pending in the court. “Taking the law into his hands and without any intimation, the landlord locked up the gates, causing immense agony to the school, children, parents and management,” school authorities said.
C.H. Venkateshwaralu, the landlord of the school, claimed that the school management did not pay the rent correctly from 2013 and ran up arrears of '10 crore. The school which is situated on Race Course road in Guindy has a total area of 14 grounds. A part of the building was rented to the school.
“The school did not renew its rental agreement after 2013. The management did not remit the TDS and we are getting I-T notices,” said R. Padma, daughter of Venkateshwaralu.
The landlord went to court claiming Rs 10 crore towards the rental arrears. The school management has agreed to pay Rs 2 crore and vacate the premises by May 2018.
“They did not give '2 crore as agreed by their lawyer and did not pay the rent of Rs 10 lakh as directed by the court,” she claimed. "Our father paid the service tax out of his own pocket. So, he locked the premises,” she said. The Ashram school management issued a statement on Wednesday evening stating they have decided to vacate the premises and the negotiations were on to settle the matter. “It is not just about the rent but it's their exploitation of the situation and asking for unfair, unreasonable, exorbitant increment in rentals for which we have been negotiating with them,” the school management said in release.
