CHENNAI: Stressing on the need to deal sternly with encroachment of temple properties, the Madras High Court has said tenants encroaching such properties is a serious legal issue warranting stringent legal action. Dealing with a property registration case, in which a lease holder was handed over the title of temple property by a civil court, the bench held that temple land cannot be alienated and that the civil court passed orders without jurisdiction. It ordered the HR&CE department to retrieve the land within three months.
“Encroachments upon temple property by tenants is a serious legal issue that demands stringent enforcement of property laws and respect for religious sentiments. Temple authorities must be vigilant in protecting their land holdings, while tenants must adhere to the terms of their lease agreements,” a division bench of justices SM Subramaniam and K Rajasekar noted.
The observations were made on Wednesday while dismissing the appeals filed by film producer RB Choudry, MD of Super Good Films Private Limited, seeking an order to the registration department to register the land belonging to the Agastheeswara Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal temple at Nungambakkam.
Ruing encroachment of temple properties, the bench said, “Such acts of fences eating the crops should be dealt with sternly.”
Choudry approached the court to get the property measuring one ground and 277 sq.ft. registered in his firm’s name because authorities had refused to register the property which was bought from Siddiqa, who claimed to have purchased it from the legal heirs of a lease holder in 1992. The legal heirs of the lease holder were given the title of the land through a civil court order. Siddiqa’s petition in this regard was also dismissed. The high court held that the civil court order was null and void.