The Madras High Court expressed concern with the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department’s (HR&CE) performance in protecting temple properties and warned that HR&CE officials involved in temple looting would face severe consequences.
The Madras High Court has given this observation while hearing a case seeking direction to recover temple land belonging to the Agastheeswarar temple in Nungambakkam, Chennai from encroachers.
The case was heard by a bench presided by Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee. The petitioner told the High Court that the HR&CE officials violated a previous order to recover the property from the encroacher, forcing him to file a contempt of court petition to enforce the court order.
The HR&CE has been directed by the court to file an affidavit detailing the complete property of Agastheeswarar Temple as well as the quantity of land that has been encroached upon.
The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court further stated that some HR&CE officers had become complacent in recovering temple properties and that the court will take stern action against them.
(with inputs from NewsJ)
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.