The management of Amrutanjan Health Care Limited, a 132-year-old Chennai-based company known for its popular pain relief balm, has filed a writ appeal before the Madras High Court challenging an order directing its eviction from land belonging to the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore.
The appeal is scheduled to be heard on Monday (16 March 2026) by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan.
As reported in The Hindu, the case relates to 14 grounds and 910 square feet of temple land located on Luz Church Road, which had originally been leased out by the temple management to PR Sundera Iyer on 28 August 1901 for a period of 99 years at a monthly rent of ₹1,400. The lease rights were later assigned to Amrutanjan, which continued to occupy the property for decades.
According to court records, the original lease expired on 27 August 2000. After the expiry, the temple management sought to revise the rent, but the company did not agree to the enhanced amount. The temple subsequently issued a notice on 17 September 2001 asking the company to vacate the property by 1 November 2001.
When the land was not vacated, a fresh notice was issued in June 2024.
In the meantime, the Tamil Nadu government introduced Section 34A to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 through a 2003 amendment. The provision created a committee to determine fair rent for temple properties based on market value.
A committee comprising officials from the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, the temple administration, and the district registrar fixed the monthly rent for the property at ₹3.30 lakh in 2005, with retrospective effect from 2001.
Amrutanjan challenged the decision before the HR&CE Commissioner. However, the appeal was not entertained as the company had not deposited the lease amount fixed by the committee, as required under the Act.
Subsequently, the company filed a writ petition in 2005 challenging the validity of Section 34A(5) of the Act. The petition remained pending for nearly two decades before it was dismissed by Justice M. Dhandapani on 25 September 2025.
In his order, the judge directed the authorities to evict the company from the temple property if it had not already been done and to recover the rent fixed by the Fair Rent Committee, including arrears, within four weeks.
Amrutanjan, which reportedly has an annual turnover of around ₹450 crore, has now filed a writ appeal challenging the order. The outcome of the case could determine whether the company must vacate the temple land and pay the accumulated rent arrears dating back to 2001.
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