The Tamil Nadu government has told the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that a government order issued to facilitate registration of properties belonging to temples has been withdrawn.
The submission came during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Salem resident Radhakrishnan. The petition said many temple properties are under encroachment and are being recovered based on court directions, and challenged a Revenue Department order dated September 30, 2025 that sought to enable registration of temple and Waqf Board properties.
The petitioner argued that the department had no authority to constitute a committee of senior IAS officers and permit uploading such properties in the Registration Department at a “zero value”, contending that the move was unconstitutional. A division bench had earlier granted an interim stay on October 30.
When the matter was taken up again before Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman, Advocate General R. Raman said the order had been withdrawn on February 19 and that a fresh plan would be prepared, following which a new order would be issued in accordance with law.
Recording that the government order had been withdrawn, the court held the petition had become infructuous and dismissed it.
