MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday dispensed with the personal appearance of HR&CE commissioner TG Vinay in a contempt petition filed over non-compliance of an order directing removal of encroachments in properties belonging to Pasupatheeswarar temple in Karur.
A bench of justices P Velmurugan and KK Ramakrishnan gave the exemption after Vinay appeared before the court pursuant to a summons and gave an assurance that 101 revision petitions pending before him against the eviction notices would be disposed of within two months.
The commissioner stated that the total extent of the temple’s properties was around 10 acres and 48 cents. While the issue of ownership of 1.51 acres of the above properties is pending before the Supreme Court, notices have been issued to 156 persons in three batches between 2022 and 2024 and final orders have been passed by the joint commissioner with respect to 151 persons.
Of the 151, 22 have exchanged their lands with the temple and the remaining 129 occupants were directed to vacate the properties. Out of the said 129, 101 persons have filed revision petitions before him, he explained.
He assured to dispose of these petitions within two months, following which the court’s order would be implemented strictly, he added. Following this, the judges dispensed with his personal appearance and posted the matter on November 27.
The contempt petition was filed by A Radhakrishnan in 2024, in connection with an order passed by the court on November 15, 2022, on his petition seeking to restore the properties belonging to the temple.
The court had then noted that only public notice had been issued instructing the encroachers to vacate the properties and hand over its possession to the temple. Since the public notice did not contain the names and addresses of the encroachers, the court had directed the authorities to issue proper notices and take a decision within three months.
