Judges rap HR&CE Joint Commissioner of Tirukannamangai temple for disrespecting the court

The ‘arrogance’ of the officer knows no bounds: HC

The Madras High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on a Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department for filing a reply in a “cavalier manner” to a public interest litigation petition which had complained of encroachment of a major portion of over 400 acres of land belonging to the Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple at Tirukannamangai in Tiruvarur district.

Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu were irked over the Joint Commissioner G. Thennarasu having told the court that although some encroachers were in possession of the temple land, the procedure contemplated for evicting the encroachers, under the HR&CE Act of 1959, was cumbersome and he could not commit any time limit within which the encroachers could be evicted.

The judges pointed out that the Joint Commissioner had reported that some parts of the temple land had been leased out and some were under encroachment. However, the official had not provided the exact extent of the properties that had been leased out and the extent that was under encroachment. The officer had not stated as to who had leased out the temple lands and the number of encroachers.