The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department to undertake a comprehensive survey and an audit of temple properties around Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district in order to ascertain the nature of encroachments and remove them.
A Division Bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad directed the authorities to take immediate action if there were encroachments on temple lands. Appropriate action should be taken by invoking Section 78 of the HR & CE Act after giving due opportunity of hearing to all the parties concerned.
The court made it clear that the pendency of civil suits, if any, between the private parties and the temple would not be a bar on retrieving the temple properties. All departments should assist the HR & CE Department in identifying the encroached temple lands and taking appropriate action, the judges said.
The judges observed that the court had repeatedly held that temples in Tamil Nadu were not only a source of identification of the ancient culture, but also a testimony of knowledge and talent in the field of arts, science and sculpture and a conduit for spiritual activities as well. The properties of the religious institutions, more particularly those of the temples, had to be maintained properly in order to derive more income to spend for their betterment.
Therefore, the Commissioner of the HR & CE Department was duty bound to ensure that the temples and their properties were properly administered and that their income was duly appropriated for the purpose for which they were founded or existed, the judges observed.
The court passed the directions while hearing the public interest litigation petition filed in 2015 by T. Velmurugan of Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district, who sought an appropriate direction to the authorities to protect, safeguard and maintain the properties of Subramaniya Swamy Temple.
