CHENNAI: Rapping the HR&CE department for making a ‘volte face’ by backtracking in retrieving the land belonging to Sri Bashyakara Adi Chenna Kesava Perumal temple at Mambalam, the Madras High Court on Thursday granted four days’ time for clearing the encroachments around the temple.
A division bench of justices G Jayachandran and E Manoharan passed the orders on a petition filed by C Janarthanan of West Mambalam. The petitioner had sought eviction of the encroachments and utilisation of the land for the purposes of the devotees.
“We direct the respondents to evict all the encroachers on or before September 7 and report before the court on September 8,” the bench said in the order passed on Thursday. It directed the Chennai police commissioner to provide adequate protection, if required.
It refused to accept the status report filed on Thursday by the executive officer of the temple that the persons, who have been in occupation of the temple property, have paid part of the dues, and that the department has decided to reverse its decision to evict them.
For the past six years, they have been squatting on the temple land and the partial payment is collected only with an intention to defeat the orders of the court, the bench remarked.