The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has sought a response from the Madurai District Collector in a public interest case alleging that government land at Tirupparankundram has been illegally occupied by the CSI Madurai–Ramanathapuram Diocese administration.
The petitioner, Devasahayam of Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district, said a 0.28-hectare government poramboke land in a specified survey number was allegedly encroached upon, with shops and houses put up and rent collected. He also claimed that a lodge had been constructed and vacant land occupied.
According to the petition, representations were sent on July 18, 2025 to the Collector, the Thirumangalam RDO and the Tirupparankundram Tahsildar seeking action. The Tahsildar reportedly replied that steps were being taken under the Land Encroachment Act, and later issued a notice to the CSI administration on August 26, 2025 to remove the alleged encroachments.
The petitioner contended that the occupation had not been cleared so far and estimated the value of the land at about Rs 200 crore. During the hearing before Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel, the CSI side submitted that an appeal against the Tahsildar’s notice had been filed before the Collector.
The Bench directed the Collector to file a reply by October 8, stating when the appeal would be heard and disposed of.
