The Madras High Court Bench here on Friday ordered maintenance of status quo on the issue of appointment of an Executive Officer by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department for managing the affairs of the famous Pandi Muneeswarar Temple at Melamadai here for the next five years since none of its 10 hereditary trustees was in office.
The interim order was passed on a writ appeal preferred by the department against a judgement passed by a single judge of the High Court on July 16 quashing the HR and CE Commissioner’s May 12 proceedings appointing the EO of Subramaniaswamy Temple at Tirupparankundram here as the EO of Pandi Temple too without issuing notice to the hereditary trustees under suspension.
The single judge had held that HR and CE department could not appoint EOs to administer temples without putting hereditary trustees on notice even if the latter were under suspension pending enquiry into grave charges of misappropriation of temple funds.
