MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday extended the time granted to the executive officer (EO) of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple to complete restoration work in the temple's 'Pudhu Mandapam', till the consecration which is proposed to be held in September 2026.
A bench of justices N Sathish Kumar and M Jothiraman made the decision following a petition filed by the EO seeking more time. The court had earlier told the EO to complete the work before December 31, 2025 as the consecration was then scheduled to be conducted in January 2026. Following a similar extension petition filed in October, the deadline was modified to February 28, 2026.
On Monday, the EO informed the court that the works are still going on. When the judges asked the reason for the delay, the standing counsel representing the temple cited the heritage value of the mandapam.
Stating that the consecration is scheduled to be conducted in September, he assured that the works would be completed before the ceremony. Recording this, the judges extended the deadline, adding that the matter may be reopened after that if the works are not concluded by then.
The EO, while responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate R Manibharathi in 2024, had assured the court that the mandapam's restoration would be completed by the end of December 2024. Based on the statement, the court disposed of the PIL on July 19, 2024. Since the works are yet to be completed, the officer had filed the petition seeking more time.