The Madras High Court’s Madurai Bench has imposed an interim stay on the Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department’s proposal to use ₹58.54 crore from its “administrative fund” to purchase 58.77 acres of private land around Palani for creating facilities for devotees.
The order was passed after a petition was filed by temple activist TR Ramesh, challenging Government Order No. 321, which permitted the HR&CE Department to draw ₹58.54 crore from the administrative fund for the land acquisition. The fund consists of annual contributions collected from temples across the State, including the 16% levy imposed on temple revenues.
In his petition, Ramesh argued that the administrative fund can be used only for salaries of HR&CE Commissioner-level officials, executive officers, and staff, and for meeting office expenses. He stated that spending the fund on land acquisition amounted to using temple contributions for a purpose not authorised under the law, effectively imposing a “tax” on Hindus.
Ramesh submitted that the government had initiated steps through the Revenue Department to acquire 58.77 acres around Palani, but the use of the administrative fund for this purpose was impermissible. Senior advocate Niranjan Rajagopal appeared for the petitioner.
When the case was heard by Justices Anitha Sumanth and Kumarappan, the Bench questioned how a government department could deploy the administrative fund, which is legally restricted to departmental salaries and office expenditure, for purchasing land. The judges prohibited any withdrawal or utilisation of the fund for the Palani project.
The Bench also directed that the petition be transferred to a special Bench already dealing with other related matters involving HR&CE funds and land acquisition issues.
(Source: Hindu Tamil)
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