The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department was questioned by the Madras High Court on Tuesday to explain the status of 47,000 acres of temple land that had gone missing from official documents.
A division bench of Madras High Court comprising Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice TV Thamilselvi were hearing a case seeking to help find temple land that had disappeared from government records.
The High Court remarked during the hearing that the policy note for 1984-85 stated that there were records for 5.25 lakh acres of land belonging to Hindu temples in the state, however, the policy note for 2019-20 only mentioned 4.78 lakh acres. Comparing the data presented in the two policy notes, the judges concluded that the 47,000 acres were missing.
Justices N. Kirubakaran and T.V. Thamilselvi then ordered the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to file a counter affidavit by July 5 describing in detail the specific details and survey numbers of the lands mentioned in the policy note for the years 1984-85 and those mentioned in the most recent policy note.
The judges added that the HR&CE department should have no difficulty submitting the information in court because it was expected to have all of the details.
The interim orders were issued in response to a writ petition that demanded that the missing lands be recovered and returned to the temples that they belong to, so that the revenue generated may be utilized to sustain the institutions in addition to conducting prayers and ceremonies.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.