The Madras High Court on Friday wanted to know why the State government is not using vast amount of public lands to start arts and science colleges instead of taking the ‘circuitous route’ of utilising temple properties and transferring government lands worth several crore rupees to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department for establishing such colleges.
Justices R. Mahadevan and P.D. Audikesavalu raised the query during the hearing of a writ petition filed by T.R. Ramesh of Indic Collective Trust questioning the use of temple funds to establish educational institutions, especially when most temples in the State did not have trustees and were being administered by Fit Persons (interim administrators appointed by the HR&CE department).
While passing interim orders in the case on November 15, 2021, the then Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Audikesavalu had restrained the government from establishing any more colleges other than the four which had already been planned to be instituted at Kolathur in Chennai, Paramathi Velur in Namakkal district, Thoppampatti in Dindigul district and Vilathikulam in Thoothukudi district.
Then, the judges also made it clear that even the establishment of the four colleges would be subject to final outcome of the case and that a stream of religious instruction on Hinduism must also be imparted in those colleges. When the case was listed again on Friday, Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram informed the court that temple trustees had been appointed with respect to three out of the four colleges.
He also stated that a Government Order was issued by the Revenue department on January 24 this year assigning 3.5 acres of government land, worth ₹46.75 crore, at Kolathur in Chennai to the HR&CE department so that it could be utilised along with two acres of land belonging to the local Somanathaswamy Temple for the establishment of the college using surplus funds from the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore.
Taking strong exception to it, Mr. Ramesh argued that the January 24 G.O. would be hit by Article 27 of the Constitution which states that no person should be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. “This will set a bad precedent. Tomorrow, every other religious denomination will ask for assignment of government lands,” he contended.
He also told the court there was absolutely no logic in using the funds belonging to the Kapaleeswarar Temple, which owns vast lands in Mylapore, to establish a college in Kolathur situated 15 kilometres away. He claimed that the government wanted to establish the college, using a government property as well as a local temple land, in Kolathur only because it happens to be the constituency of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
After hearing him, Justice Audikesavalu asked, if imparting education to the youth was the objective of the State, why couldn’t it establish colleges directly through the Higher Education department on public lands instead of establishing them through temples. “We are thinking aloud. We just want to know the policy behind it. This is prima facie running in our mind. Why should you face all these cases?” the judge asked the A-G.
However, before the A-G could reply to it, the proceedings for the day ended and hence the judges adjourned the matter to October 28.
