The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to consider a representation made by villagers who sought a temple land to construct a high school in Dindigul district.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan directed the HR & CE Department to consider the representation within four weeks.
The petitioner, C. Arumugam of Sirankattupatti, said the government had sanctioned a high school for the village. There was a vacant land measuring 1.22.50 hectares, which belonged to Karuppasamy Temple, in the village. He said the land was suitable for the construction of the school.
The lands called Kovil Maniyam were under the control of the temple priests, and when the villagers approached the priests requesting them to give the land for the construction of the school, they consented to it, he said.
Then, a representation was made to the HR & CE Department seeking the transfer of the temple land to School Education Department authorities for the construction of the school. Since no orders were passed, the petition was filed, he said. The case was posted for reporting compliance to January 12, 2022.
