The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered that the Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department, Madurai, should not open the tenders for constructing a commercial complex in the Arulmigu Madanagopalaswami Thirukoil, Madurai, until further orders. In his order on a writ petition, Justice P. Jyothimani said the Joint Commissioner should receive the tenders, but not open them.
The petitioner, V. Thiagarajan of Tirunagar, Madurai, president of the Hindu Baktha Jana Sabha, submitted that there was an advertisement in a Tamil daily on January 5 2011 calling for tenders for allotment of shops in the proposed commercial complex. He had sent representations opposing the proposed construction.
Mr. Thiagarajan said that in his impugned proceedings of December 21 last year, the Commissioner, HR and CE Department, had granted permission for the construction. The temple property was being sought to be converted into a commercial complex by politicians with selfish interests. The action was mala fide and illegal. There was no proposal by the trustees for constructing the complex. If the construction was permitted, it would affect the temple.
