MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to furnish details of the properties owned by the Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple and its sub temples, revenue generated through the properties, and action taken against encroachments in the properties, if any.
A bench of justices Anita Sumanth and C Kumarappan sought the details while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by A Radhakrishnan of Salem, seeking a direction to expedite the renovation work and consecration of the temple, and protect the properties of the temple as well as its sub temples.
Radhakrishnan stated that the high court, in 2021, had directed the chief secretary to the Tamil Nadu government to convene a meeting with the heads of all departments to formulate a mechanism or rules to safeguard temple properties in the state.
Based on the same, a meeting was convened on August 23, 2021, in which the chief secretary had instructed the authorities to take necessary action and submit a report at the next meeting. However, no further meetings were held, even after a lapse of four years, Radhakrishnan alleged and requested the court to direct the chief secretary to conduct follow-up meetings as per the court’s direction.
In the previous hearing, the bench had directed the authorities to file a report on September 4. Though a report was submitted by the joint commissioner on Thursday, the judges felt that the report was vague. While it has been mentioned that meetings were conducted, the minutes of the meetings were not included in the report, they noted. The case was adjourned to October 7.