BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 12.01.2026 CORAM :

THE HON`BLE MR.JUSTICE B.PUGALENDHI R.Thangaraj ... Petitioner Vs.

1.District Collector, Office of the District Collector, Karur-639005.

2.The Assistant Commissioner cum Executive Officer, Arulmigu Kalyana Venkatramana Swamy Temple, Thanthonrimalai, Karur Taluk & District.

3.The District Registrar, Registrar Office, Collector Office Campus, Karur-639005.

4.Sub Registrar, Office of the Sub Registrar, Velliyanai Karur Taluk & District 639118. ... Respondents Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records of the fourth respondent in Refusal Number RFL/Velliyanai/140/2025 dated 18.11.2025 to quash the same and consequently direct the fourth respondent to register the sale deed dated 18.11.2025.

For Petitioner : Mr.N.Sundaresan For R1, R3 & R4 : Mr.K.S.Selvaganesan, Additional Government Pleader For R2 : Mr.P.Athimoolapandian

ORDER

The petitioner has filed this writ petition challenging the order passed by the fourth respondent dated 18.11.2025, in and by which, the fourth respondent has refused to register the sale deed pertaining to the land in S.No.334/2B to an extent of 11.41 acres situated at Emur Village, Karur Taluk & District.

2.The Division Bench of this Court in Sudha Ravi Kumar and another Vs. The Special Commissioner and Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Chennai and another reported in AIR 2017 Madras 203, has already issued guidelines to the Registering Authority with regard to the procedures to be followed to register the land as under:-

25. In view of the above discussions, all the writ petitions are allowed and the impugned orders are set aside with the following directions:

(i) The registering authority before whom the document has been presented shall cause service of notice on the parties to the deeds and also to the objector / religious institution, hold summary enquiry, hear the parties and then either register or refuse to register the document by passing an order having regard to the relevant facts as indicated above.

(ii) If the registering authority, refuses to register any document by accepting the objections raised under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, the aggrieved may file a statutory appeal under the Act.

(iii) If the objections raised under Section 22-A of the Act by the religious institution are rejected and the document is registered, the remedy for the religious institution is to either approach this Court by way of a writ petition seeking cancellation of the registration or for any other relief or to approach the civil Court for declaration of the title and for other consequential reliefs.

(iv) If the registering authority refuses to register the document acting on the objections raised by a religious institution under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, the parties to the deed will be at liberty to straightaway approach the Civil Court for declaration of title and other relief without availing the opportunity for filing a statutory appeal.

(v) We further direct that if the deed has already been registered without there being any objection by the religious institution under Section 22-A of the Act, the document shall be returned to the parties concerned leaving it open for the religious institution to approach either the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India or the Civil Court for appropriate relief as indicated above. At any rate, the registering authority shall not withhold the deed which has already been registered.”

3.In view of the above decision, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the fourth respondent/Sub Registrar to conduct an enquiry by providing an opportunity to the petitioner as well as the second respondent/temple and also by following the above guidelines issued by the Division Bench of this Court. Let this exercise be completed,