The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has extended an interim ban on registering any documents related to land belonging to a trust created for charitable works connected to the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple and other temples.
The order stems from a public interest petition filed by Subramanian of Nedungulam, Madurai district. He said a 21 acres and 6 cents parcel at Thimmarayasamuthiram in Srirangam belongs to the trust and alleged attempts to grab the property, which he valued at about Rs 600 crore.
Earlier, on September 3, a Division Bench had directed the concerned Sub-Registrar not to register any document—whether for the entire land or any portion—until further orders. Seeking to vacate that restraint, Chennai Rangasamy, Chitra and Vasudevanand Rangasamy moved the court.
During the hearing, the bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice C.V. Karthikeyan observed that the dispute appeared civil in nature and questioned how it could be treated as a PIL. Advocate General P.S. Vijay Narayan submitted that the trust land can be used only for charitable purposes and cannot be sold, alleging an illegal sale to a real estate firm and stating that a DVAC probe is under way. Senior counsel Raman, appearing for Rangasamy and others, contended they are the owners and that the property was not fully donated to the temple, though income from it could be used for temple works.
The court directed the HR&CE Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, the Executive Officer of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple, and the Registration Department’s Inspector General to file their replies within two weeks, after which the petitioner may respond. The matter was adjourned to November 5, and the interim ban was extended until then.
