The Madras High Court has recorded the recovery of large extents of encroached temple land belonging to the Arulmighu Kandasamy Murugan Temple at Thiruporur, with authorities reporting repossession of agricultural lands worth an estimated ₹700 crore following court-monitored action.
The development emerged during the hearing of Contempt Petition No. 1334 of 2022 in Writ Petition No. 11824 of 2020, titled B Jagannath vs Commissioner, listed before the Division Bench led by the Chief Justice.
Advocate B. Jagannath, the petitioner and party-in-person, appeared before the court. HR&CE Commissioner Sridhar appeared in person along with Kumaravel, Executive Officer of the Arulmighu Kandasamy Murugan Temple, Thiruporur. The respondents were represented by Special Government Pleader NRR Arun Natrajan, led by Additional Advocate General J Ravindran.
During the hearing, status reports filed by the Executive Officers of both the Thiruporur Kandasamy Murugan Temple and Alavandar Charities were placed on record.
According to the Thiruporur temple’s status report, a major encroachment eviction drive was undertaken on 7 February 2026, 2026, covering lands measuring approximately 226 acres, in addition to an earlier identified 30 acres. The report stated that agricultural lands worth more than ₹700 crore had been recovered from hundreds of encroachers and that full possession now vests with the Thiruporur Murugan Temple.
The report further detailed that the eviction exercise faced significant law-and-order challenges. It stated that groups of encroachers, allegedly aided by members linked to the Communist Party of India, including a former MLA, engaged in arson, sloganeering, poster campaigns, and acts of violence targeting temple executive officials and police personnel. Authorities reported incidents of heckling, dharna protests, and damage to property during the removal operations.
Despite these disruptions, officials stated that the eviction was completed and the encroached lands were secured under temple control.
The recovery has been described in the status report as one of the largest encroachment removal drives undertaken by the HR&CE Department in recent times. The department also submitted an undertaking before the court stating that any remaining encroachments would be cleared, noting that the process of issuing notices under Section 78 of the HR&CE Act to encroachers had been completed.
A separate status report concerning Alavandar Charities indicated that about 18 acres of encroached land, valued at several crores of rupees, had also been recovered.
Recording the submissions, the Division Bench stated that it was satisfied with the actions taken by the respondents regarding encroachment removal and ordered closure of the long-pending contempt proceedings.
In a connected development, Sub-Application No. 120 of 2026 was filed by certain encroachers seeking impleadment in the contempt proceedings. The court held that a sub-application for impleadment in contempt proceedings was not maintainable and accordingly closed the application.
Background
The litigation originated from a petition filed by Chennai-based advocate B Jagannath alleging large-scale encroachments on lands belonging to the Thiruporur Kandaswamy Temple.
On 29 January 2026, when temple authorities attempted to install warning boards marking the properties as temple land, more than 300 farmers gathered at the site and staged a blockade protest. Following negotiations, time was granted until February 6.
Farmers subsequently moved the Madras High Court on 3 February 2026, and the petition was admitted for hearing on 5 February 2026.
While the matter was pending, around 300 persons assembled near the Thiruporur roundabout demanding that the temple administration refrain from taking possession of the land until further court orders.
Police denied permission for the protest, after which a petition was submitted to Thiruporur Tahsildar Saravanan, who assured that the matter would be conveyed to the district administration.
Significantly a Dargah was also found to be under encroachment in Alavandar charities land against whom 78 proceedings have been also initiated.
Amid court directions requiring submission of a status report by 10 February 2026, temple authorities proceeded to install notification boards under police protection across disputed parcels. Notices were erected at more than 19 locations, and officials reported that a total of 221.37 acres had been taken possession of by the temple administration as part of the recovery exercise.
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