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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
K. R. SHRIRAM, SENTHILKUMARRAMAMOORTHY
P. Bhaskar – Appellant
Versus
District Collector, Chengalpattu – Respondent
ORDER :
K.R.Shriram, CJ.
W.P.No.19084 of 2024:
This public interest litigation came to be filed pursuant to a Tender Notification No.1, published in a newspaper “New Indian Express” on 11.12.2023.
2. Petitioner, who is a devotee of Nandhivaram Shivan Temple, situated at Guduvancherry, Chennai, states he is a person with interest as defined in Section 6(15)(b) of the Tami Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 [HR & CE Act]. The fact that the petitioner is a person with interest is not disputed. Petitioner claims that he is an ardent saivaite and performs utsavams as upayadarar as a matter of faith and devotion towards Lord Shiva.
3. The Arulmighu Nandeeswarar Shivan temple situated at Nandhivaram, Guduvancherry, falls under the jurisdiction and administrative control of the HR & CE Department. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and thousands of devotees visit the temple every day. The area is called Nandhivaram after Nandeeswarar Shivan temple.
4. Admittedly, the temple has lands endowed by the devotees for dedicated specific religious charitable purpose. Petitioner states that the judgment in the case of Topulan Chettiar of Srigangam Temple would squarely apply to t
Surplus funds of a religious institution can only be utilized for purposes specified under the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, not for commercial ventures.
A lease for temple property must demonstrate necessity and benefit to the deity; merely augmenting income is insufficient and procedural violations render the decision unjustifiable.
The court ruled that the lease of temple property was unjustifiable due to non-compliance with statutory requirements and lack of necessity, emphasizing the prioritization of temple interests over pu....
The Court reaffirmed that temple lands and funds must only be used for religious purposes, asserting the government's lack of authority to misuse such properties under the Hindu Religious and Charita....
A temple is classified as private if it lacks features of public worship and management rests with a specific community, as established through historical evidence and refusal of public rights.
The determination of a temple's status as public or private hinges on the right of public access and the evidence of dedication to public worship, not merely on the presence of public worship.
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