BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT Dated: 13.03.2026 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY W.P(MD)No.6827 of 2026 and W.M.P(MD)No.5651 of 2026 Nirmala Rangarajan ... Petitioner Vs.

1.The Sub-Registrar, Srirangam Sub-Registrar Office, Srirangam, Trichy-620 006.

2.Sriranganathasway Temple, Rep by its Executive Officer/Joint Commissioner, Srirangam, Trichy-620 006. ...Respondents Writ Petition is filed under article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records comprised in RFL/Srirangam/128/2025 dated 31.10.2025 on the file of the 1^st respondent and quash the same as being arbitrary, illegal and contrary to the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908 and rules thereunder and consequently, direct the 1^st respondent to register the settlement deed dated 31.10.2025 in TP/237851320/2025 presented by the petitioner.

For Petitioner :Mr.K.Prabhakar For R1 :M/s.K.Malathi Additional Government Pleader For R2 :Mr.M.Saravanan

ORDER

This writ petition is filed for a certiorarified mandamus challenging the impugned order dated 31.10.2025.

2.The impugned order is a refusal check slip passed on the ground that vide settlement deed dated 31.10.2025 in TP/237851320/2025, a request has been received under Section 22A of the Registration(Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act 2008, claiming that the property belongs to the second respondent temple. In that situation, an order cannot be straight away passed without an enquiry and the matter has been since settled by 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 others, reported in (2017) 3 CTC 135, the directions in paragraph 25 are extracted hereunder for ready reference.

“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.

(vi) Consequently the connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. No costs.

3.In view thereof, this writ petition is ordered on the following terms:

(i)The impugned refusal check slip dated 31.10.2025