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2026 Supreme(Online)(Mad) 11976
MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
Krishnan Ramasamy, J
Muthukaruppan – Appellant
Versus
The Commissioner – Respondent
W.P.(MD) No.678 of 2026 | W.M.P.(MD)No.547 of 2026
For the Appellants/Petitioners: V.R. Shanmuganathan, K.S. Kathiravan
For the Respondents: K. Balasubramani, S. Manohar, S. Lakshmanan
The court held that the decision of the majority of a committee appointed for temple renovation, specifically regarding the scheduling of a religious festival, prevails over the objections of a minority of members.
Headnote:The petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a Writ of Mandamus to direct the respondents to conclude renovation works and conduct the Kumbabishegam festival of Arulmigu Mahadevasamy Temple. A committee of ten members was appointed to oversee the renovation and determine the auspicious date for the festival. The court noted that a majority of the committee members had passed a resolution to conduct the festival on 22.02.2026. The primary issue was whether the date fixed by the majority of the renovation committee should be upheld despite objections raised by a minority of members. The court reasoned that since nine members participated in the meeting and six members (a majority) consented to the date of 22.02.2026 via a formal resolution, the decision of the majority should be implemented. With the above observations, this Writ Petition is disposed of.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. appointment of a committee to manage temple renovation and determine festival dates. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. existence of minority objections within a committee regarding administrative decisions. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. the binding nature of a majority resolution passed by a designated committee. (Para 6 , 7) |
| 4. verification of physical completion of renovation works through evidence. (Para 8) |
| 5. disposal of the writ petition based on the court's observations. (Para 9) |
Prayer:
Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 3 to conclude the renovation works and to conduct kumbabishegam festival of Arulmigu Mahadevasamy Temple, Rajamill Road, Madurai as scheduled on 28.01.2026 pursuant to the order of this Court in WP(MD).No.19724 of 2025 dated 18.07.2025.
O R D E R
This Writ Petition is filed seeking a direction to the respondents 1 to 3 to conclude the renovation works and to conduct kumbabishegam festival of Arulmigu Mahadevasamy Temple, Rajamill Road, Madurai as scheduled on 28.01.2026 pursuant to the order of this Court in WP(MD).No.19724 of 2025 dated 18.07.2025.
2. When the matter was came up for hearing on 28.01.2026, this Court has passed the following order:
“The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that in the present case, a Committee, consisting of 9 members, was appointed to look after the renovation work. Therefore, the said Committee is directed to fix the auspicious date for Kumbabishekam and inform the same to the Court.
2. In the event, if the 4th respondent gives any suggestion, the Committee is directed to take the same as agenda and discuss the same in the Committee and report the same before this Court along with the date for Kumbabishekam. The committee is also directed to file a report with regard to the completion of the renovation work particularly, a crack in the sanctum sanctorum and whether the same can be rectified or not.
3. Post the matter on 05.02.2026.”
3. Today, the learned Special Government Pleader appearing for the respondents 1 and 2 would submit that one more member has been appointed to the Committee and now totally, there are 10 members in the Committee for looking after the renovation work. Out of the 10 members, 9 members participated in the Committee meeting and with a majority of 6 members, the Committee decided to conduct the Kumbabishekam at the temple on 22.02.2026. A resolution to that effect was also passed during the Committee meeting on 01.02.2026
4. The learned counsel appearing for the 4th respondent would submit that five members have raised objections to fixing the date for the Kumbabishekam.
5. However, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that they are also the members of the Committee and three members have raised objections to fixing the date for the Kumbabishekam.
6. This Court heard the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials available on record.
7. On a perusal of the records, it is seen that totally 10 members in the Committee, which was appointed to look after the renovation work and out of 10 members, 9 members participated in the Committee meeting and 6 members have given their consent for conducting Kumbabishekam on 22.02.2026 and a resolution to that effect was also passed on 01.02.2026 in the Committee meeting. Under these circumstances, this Court is of the view that, based on the decision of the majority of the members and the resolution passed in the Committee meeting on 01.02.2026, the Kumbabishekam let be conducted on the date fixed viz., on 22.02.2026
8. The learned counsel appearing for the 4th respondent would further submit that there is a crack in the sanctum sanctorum, however, the same has not been rectified till date. But, the learned counsel appearing for the third respondent temple would submit that the
