The Madras High Court has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to complete the process of appointing trustees to the Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane within six months, while also making it clear that temple Executive Officers should not interfere in religious affairs, as reported in Hindu Tamil.
The direction was issued by a division bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan while disposing of a petition filed by temple activist TR Ramesh.
The petitioner had challenged the long-standing practice of appointing the temple’s Executive Officer as the Fit Person (Thakkar) for the Parthasarathy Temple. According to the petition, the arrangement has continued for nearly 47 years, and a government-appointed official should instead be designated as the Fit Person.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel alleged that Executive Officers were actively participating in and interfering with the temple’s religious activities. Taking note of the submission, the bench questioned under what authority Executive Officers were involved in religious matters and sought clarification on when trustees would be appointed to the temple.
Responding on behalf of the State, Additional Advocate General P.V. Balasubramaniam informed the court that applications had already been invited for the appointment of trustees and that the selection process would require approximately six months to complete.
Recording the submission, the bench directed the authorities to complete the trustee appointment process within the stipulated six-month period.
The 2nd Good News today from Madras High Court for Temple Worshipping Hindus !
The ancient Sri Parthasarati Temple, Tiruvallikeni, Chennai – One of the 108 Divyadesams.A temple where the infamous @tnhrcedept has been continuing with a TRIPLE FRAUD for more than 4 Decades -… pic.twitter.com/iqBD4uPJzv
— trramesh (@trramesh) May 29, 2026
The court further observed that Executive Officers should not interfere in the religious affairs of temples and emphasized that such functions should be carried out only by persons familiar with the temple’s customs, traditions and established practices.
With these directions, the court disposed of the petition.
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